Great Falls, Montana

From the January 13, 2010 Great Falls Tribune:

No one will be charged in connection with the front-yard skirmish on the city’s southwest side last month that ended with two men being shot.

The Great Falls Police detective working the case, Brian Black, said the investigation was hampered by uncooperative witnesses and the state’s self-defense law.

Cascade County Attorney John Parker said police wrapped up their investigation Tuesday and determined there wasn’t enough reliable evidence to charge anybody at this time. That includes the shooter and the two men who were shot. None of the names of the people involved in the incident have been released by authorities.

“The people who allegedly fired shots were already under attack and, in this situation, had the lawful authority to use force to defend themselves,” Parker said.

He specifically referenced Section No. 1 of the state’s self-defense law, which states that “a person who is lawfully in a place or location, and who is threatened with bodily injury or loss of life has no duty to retreat from a threat or summon law enforcement assistance prior to using force.”

Investigators also were slowed because witnesses didn’t talk to authorities. One of the men who was shot first refused to cooperate with detectives before coming up with a statement that was proven to be false.

“It has been frustrating,” Black said in an interview that took place during the investigation.

The root of the skirmish was a relationship between a girl in one family who was dating a boy in another family, Black said.

One group went to the home at 624 4th Ave. S.W. on Dec. 9 for a confrontation with the other group. Guns and bats were believed to be involved, according to police. Black said it still is not clear exactly how many people were involved, but it’s believed to be three to six.