Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
A foot chase early Saturday morning left a nine-year veteran of the Havre Police Department with a fractured elbow.
Havre police Sgt. Gabe Matosich fell and injured his left arm while chasing a person police believe was somehow involved in a suspected shooting incident reported shortly after midnight Friday, Lt. Russ Ostwalt said today.
Matosich will visit a doctor today or Wednesday, Ostwalt said, and will learn how much time it will take to recover. Matosich is right-handed.
The foot chase was just one part of what Ostwalt called a “crazy” night.
Shortly after midnight, officers investigated reports of multiple calls of gunshots fired in an alley between the 1000 blocks of Second and Third avenues.
According to a police report, officers located a vehicle that had been shot several times. An investigation led to Adam L. Hammons, 19, of Havre, who was later arrested on charges of criminal mischief, criminal endangerment and theft by disposal of stolen property, the report said.
Officers also arrested Hammons' roommate, a 16-year-old boy, on a state District Court warrant and on a charge of obstructing a peace officer.
Officers found spent casings near the damaged vehicle that appeared to match a large-caliber pistol that police found in Hammons' yard, Ostwalt said.
No one was reportedly in the line of fire when the weapon was discharged, he added.
Police will turn information regarding the incident over to the Hill County Attorney Cyndee Peterson, Ostwalt said. Her office will decide whether to press more charges.
Before Hammons was arrested, Matosich chased an unidentified person whom Ostwalt said police believe is at least a witness to the shooting incident. The person was able to elude police.
The chase was just one of several that night, Ostwalt said.
“It was crazy down here,” he said.
Daily News reporter Krista Corner contributed to this story.
