Bigfork man jailed following armed standoff

A Bigfork man is in jail after allegedly engaging in an armed standoff with law officers Tuesday night.

Ronald Dean Clackler, 63, is facing pending charges of assault with a weapon, resisting arrest and criminal mischief.

According to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, at about 4:01 p.m. Tuesday, deputies from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a residence in the 400 block of Alpine Drive in Bigfork for a report of a man creating a disturbance with a gun.

Dispatch advised a man, later identified as Clackler, was outside a woman’s residence firing a gun. She hid in her basement while awaiting a response from deputies.

When deputies arrived and ensured the safety of the woman, they obtained further information from her. She said the man drove up to her residence on an ATV and shot the windows out of the vehicles parked in her driveway.

The investigation revealed Clackler lived at a nearby residence just down the road.

When deputies went to his home, Clackler allegedly refused to talk with responding deputies or exit the home after repeated attempts through various methods.

SWAT teams from the Sheriff’s Office and Kalispell Police Department were called to the scene and were able to take Clackler into custody after a short stand-off.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Detective Division is still investigating the case.