Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
William James Wilson of Havre, born in 1989, pleaded not guilty in state District Court in Havre to felony charges of assault with a weapon, criminal endangerment and tampering with physical evidence stemming from a shooting west of Havre on Aug. 8. According to a court document, Wilson went to the Havre Police Department on Aug. 8 and reported that he had shot someone at a residence west of Havre. Law enforcement officers investigating the report found the victim in the residence, who told them that Wilson had shot her, the document said. She had a wound in her abdomen, the document said. Emergency medical technicians arrived and transported the victim to a local hospital after examining her, the document said. The officers found a spent shotgun shell in the garbage in the residence, and it appeared the residence had been cleaned up before they arrived, including cleaning evidence of the shooting, the document said. An officer found shotgun shot in a garbage can in the residence and a punch-type tool leading the officer to believe the shell or shells had just been emptied of shot, the document said. According to the document, Wilson said the victim had brought a group of people he estimated as many as 20 to the residence for a party. After he had negotiated for more than two hours to get the people to quiet down or leave, Wilson said, he took the shotgun and “fired off a few rounds.” He told officers that he had previously emptied the shells he put into the gun to use the shot for something else, the document said. An omnibus hearing, where other hearings and trials are generally scheduled, is tentatively set for Sept. 15, with confirmation of the date to be made later.
