Columbia Falls man pleads guilty in drive-by shooting

A second man involved in a drive-by shooting in Kalispell last year pleaded guilty to the offense last week in Flathead County District Court.

Ansen Walter Ingraham, 19, appear with his court-appointed attorney Caleb Simpson in front of District Judge Dan Wilson and pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a weapon and one count of criminal endangerment. Three other felony charges were dismissed.

According to court documents, Ingraham reached a plea deal with the Flathead County Attorney’s Office June 26. The County Attorney recommended a 15-year sentence to the Montana State Prison for the assault with a weapon charge. For the endangerment charge, Ingraham is facing a 10-year suspended sentence, to be served consecutively.

Ingraham’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 3.

He remains in the county jail on $250,000 bail.

Ingraham and Joseph Trapper Bukowski each initially pleaded not guilty Jan. 9 to several felony offenses.

Ingraham was arrested Dec. 23 at a home on West Cottonwood Drive in Evergreen and Bukowski was booked into jail Dec. 27 for their alleged roles in the Dec. 21 shooting.

During a June 4 hearing, Bukowski took the stand and admitted to driving the SUV involved in the crime. He also said he had a handgun, but didn’t fire it.

He said Ingraham and two others in the vehicle also had guns and fired them during the incident.

The Kalispell Police Department was looking for the third man, 19-year-old Dray Scott Wieting of Kalispell, who was allegedly involved in the shooting.

Weiting was arrested by Columbia Falls Police on July 10.

He also faces numerous gun and assault charges in the case.

One of the other people involved in the shooting is a juvenile and has been charged, according to Flathead County Deputy Attorney Alison Howard.

Bukowski’s attorney, Tim Wenz, asked his client where each of the four accused people were sitting in the vehicle during the June 4 hearing. Bukowski said he was driving, Ingraham was in the front passenger seat and the other two, including Wieting, were in the back seats.

“We knew where we were going,” Bukowski said when asked by Flathead County Deputy Attorney Allison Howard if he knew what was happening when the foursome were inside the SUV.

During the investigation, police learned Ingraham allegedly had threatened a person who lives in the targeted duplex on Seventh Avenue over an ongoing dispute, telling that person he would “get what was coming to him.”

According to court documents, Kalispell Police received a report of “shots fired” at 12:08 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, near a duplex on Seventh Avenue West in Kalispell. It was later reported that two other residences on Sunnyside Drive and Ashley Creek Lane were shot several times.

Reportedly, a large SUV passed by and its occupants shot the homes, court documents allege. Numerous bullet holes were found in the residences, as well as bullets, and more than 20 casings were found in the street. Based on the evidence, police believe both a 9 mm and a .45-caliber weapon were used in the crime.

Police said one bullet passed through a wall a few feet from a sleeping child.

When asked why the people in the vehicle shot at the other residences, Bukowski said he didn’t know.

In the complaint against Wieting, a woman said Wieting sold a gun to her friend in late December 2019. At the time, Wieting allegedly admitted to being involved in the drive-by shooting. The complaint also indicated Wieting’s statement was corroborated by social media records.

The woman also said she was at a party when she allegedly heard Wieting say he wasn’t stupid enough to let his shells go out of the car during the shooting.

Then, on June 4, when Bukowski admitted guilt in the shooting, he said Wieting was present and fired shots at the residence during the alleged incident, according to the charging document.