GREAT FALLS — Joshua Philip Allen has been charged with assault with a weapon and criminal endangerment after he allegedly fired a gun outside of the Alumni Club in Great Falls.
Court documents state that police officers responded to the area near 601 6th Street NW at about 12:37 a.m. on Saturday, June 5th, due to a "large presence of people." One officer heard a gunshot and saw people running away from the Alumni Club.
The officer saw two people engaged in an altercation, and witnesses said it was Allen, and that he had been holding a handgun. Witnesses told police that Allen had pointed the gun at the chest of a man, and the man tried to disarm Allen, which resulted in the gun discharging. The man then reportedly took the gun away from Allen and threw it. Police recovered the firearm nearby.
According to the affidavit, the victim in the case said that Allen had approached him in the parking lot about having the lights of his vehicle turned on. Allen then "turned away and chambered a bullet into a handgun and turned back around and pointed the handgun" at the victim's chest. The victim then grabbed the gun and removed the magazine before throwing the firearm.
Court documents state that while he was being taken to the Cascade County Detention Center, Allen made the "unsolicited comment he did not know why he was in trouble because the other guy took the gun away from him." Allen admitted the gun was his.
Court documents state that bail for Allen was set at $10,000, adding that "he has been convicted of previous offenses involving violence, and may be a danger to the community."
