Bigfork man charged in connection with shooting

A man involved in two different shootings in the Echo Lake area during the last three months has been charged.

Ronald Dean Clackler, Sr., 63, of Bigfork, was charged with one felony count of assault with a weapon after he allegedly fired several rounds from a shotgun into a vehicle belonging to a woman who said she was a witness to the earlier shooting in September in the 400 block of Alpine Drive.

According to Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino, Clackler was involved in a shooting with another man in the same neighborhood in the 500 block of Alpine Drive near Echo Lake on Sept. 6.

Heino said a man who was looking at a property that was for sale was confronted by Clackler. Clackler and the man exchanged shots. Clackler was struck in the leg and shoulder and treated for his wounds.

In the most recent case, according to charging documents filed in Flathead County District Court Thursday, at about 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, a sergeant with the Sheriff’s Office responded to the woman’s home and saw the passenger side window shattered in her Chevy Trailblazer.

When the deputy spoke to the victim she said she saw a man on a 4-wheeler driving around her house and then she heard a crashing sound while the man faced the passenger side of the Trailblazer.

She said she was scared, backed away from the window and called her boyfriend. It was then she said she heard gunshots.

A neighbor told another sheriff’s investigator he saw Clackler Sr. driving a 4-wheeler near the damaged vehicle. Deputies then found Clackler Sr. in his home and tried to get him to come out, but he refused.

According to court documents, after SWAT teams from the county and Kalispell Police Department arrived, Clackler Sr. was arrested.

The following day, a detective with the county spoke to Clackler Sr. and he said he allegedly was drunk and angry because the woman was a witness in a prior incident involving him. He also allegedly said after he checked to see if anyone was around, he shot the passenger door four of five times.

Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com