C-Falls duck hunter pleads not guilty to shooting boat, hunters

A Columbia Falls man recently pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of criminal endangerment. Brad Bell, 44, was duck hunting near Bigfork Oct. 3 when he allegedly shot at other duck hunters in the area.

Duck hunter Jeremy Buchholz contacted the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office at 7 a.m. to a location near Sportsman’s Bridge, according to court documents. He and his brother Jason were traveling up the Flathead River near Fennon Slough when they passed through another hunter’s decoys.

Bell yelled at the Buchholzs then 15 seconds later he discharged his shotgun, according to court documents. Buchholz reported that the shotgun pellets struck them and damaged his boat. The court documents didn’t say if anyone was injured. In addition, he indicated to the deputy that Bell knew their location when he fired the shotgun and they were about 100 feet away.

Bell admitted to shooting, but he claimed to have been aiming at a duck. His hunting partner, who was unnamed in the court documents, couldn’t verify that he had seen a duck.

Bell is scheduled to have a jury trial in April. If convicted, he could spend a maximum of 10 years in the state prison and pay a fine of up to $50,000.