Russian roulette convict back in county jail

A local man who was involved in the shooting death of another more than two years ago was recently returned to the county jail following numerous alleged probation violations.

Keigan I. Ball, 24, pleaded no contest to one felony count of criminal endangerment Dec. 4, 2023, following the May 27, 2023, death of 30-year-old Shane Ellison. A charge of negligent homicide was dismissed following a plea deal. 

According to court documents, Ellison mistakenly shot himself with a revolver that he thought was unloaded. Ball told an investigator following the shooting that he believed he had unloaded his gun during the incident on Memorial Day weekend.

District Judge Matt Cuffe sentenced Ball to a 3-year deferred sentence on Feb. 29, 2024. Cuffe described Ball as a low risk to reoffend and his criminal history only included minor traffic offenses.

But after a number of traffic incidents in 2024, Ball was arrested and returned to the Lincoln County Detention Center in September 2024.

In the summer of 2024, Ball was stopped on two different occasions following careless driving and speeding inside Libby city limits. He was also cited for driving without insurance and on a revoked license.

Ball had to serve 31 days in the county jail.

But, according to a report by Montana Probation and Parole Officer Steve Watson, Ball was accused of various violations of his probation. The report said Ball, on Aug. 17, 2025, was in possession of a butterfly knife and had used alcohol that day. According to county deputy Joshua Brabo, Ball’s blood alcohol content was 0.187. He admitted to alcohol use.

The final two violations included Ball’s failure to pay $2,394 in restitution and not getting a chemical dependency evaluation. Ball also received several verbal warnings for not getting the dependency evaluation, not reporting to his probation officer, quitting his job, not finding a new job and consuming alcohol at a local bar.

On Aug. 6, 2025, Ball was also given a verbal warning for buying a 1998 Kawasaki motorcycle. He was reminded that restitution should be his focus.

Watson also wrote in his report that law enforcement responded to a domestic case at the Ball property Aug. 17 after Ball had an argument with his father. Watson believes Ball should be placed in a structured setting so he can focus on counseling and get sober.

As of Aug. 20, a revocation hearing has not been set.

In the Russian roulette shooting case, the investigation began when Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies Anthony Jenson and Ben Fisher responded to the scene at a location on Farm to Market Road. Jenson saw a Dodge Stealth that had come to a stop in a chain link fence. He saw Ellison laying just outside the driver’s side door of the vehicle.

Jenson also saw two men standing at the end of the driveway, one of whom he recognized as Ball. Jenson wrote in his report that Ball’s arms and jacket were covered with blood.

The deputy approached Ball and asked him what happened. Ball said, “It was (expletive) unloaded.” Ball then told the officer he and Ellison had been messing around. He said they would usually go into the woods, put one in the chamber and play Russian roulette. Ball said he emptied the revolver and left the loaded cartridges in his hand. He then handed the gun to Ellison who spun the cylinder, put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, according to court filings.

According to Jenson’s report, Ball said he drove to the current location where Ellison had been living in a shed on the property because he didn’t know what to do.

Deputy Fisher found four live rounds in the grass near Ball’s vehicle. Fisher’s inspection of the gun showed it held five rounds. One spent round was in the cylinder behind the firing pin.