Downtown deer shooter sentenced to six months

A Whitefish man has been sentenced to six months in county jail for shooting two deer near downtown Whitefish last winter.

Tarn Sandelin, 23, was sentenced last week in Whitefish Municipal Court. Along with the jail time he was fined $1,000 for negligent endangerment and $585 for criminal mischief. He is to pay $1,300 in restitution and was also fined $25 for firing a firearm in city limits.

Sandelin reportedly fired 10 shots with a .40 caliber pistol around 4 a.m. on Jan. 7, killing two deer in a yard off of Baker Avenue near the Tailwaggers pet store. One of the deer was found dead the next morning in a yard downtown. The other was found injured on the grass in front of the Presbyterian Church on Central Avenue. That deer was later destroyed.

Five bullet holes penetrated a wall at Tailwaggers pet store. One of the bullets went through the outside wall, a metal desk in a back office, then through a freezer and box of frozen dog bones.

No one was injured in the incident. Alcohol was reportedly a factor.

Detectives were able to identify Sandelin as a suspect after a tip from a witness matched footage from two surveillance cameras.