BOZEMAN — Oliver Marion of Bozeman, accused of firing a 9mm pistol in a downtown residential area, was charged with criminal endangerment in Gallatin County Justice Court on Thursday morning.
Marion, 37 years old, could face up to $50,000 in fines and up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
According to charging documents, Bozeman Police officers responded Wednesday at about 12:41 a.m. to reports of a man making threats in the 700 block of E. Mendenhall Street. Witnesses said a man was yelling and making threats, acting manic, and reportedly firing a gun off while standing on a balcony. Court documents state the area is “a densely populated residential area and multiple individuals residing in the area reported the gunshots.”
When officers arrived on the scene, Marion exited the building and entered the parking lot. When ordered to the ground, Marion reportedly responded by swearing at the officers and returning to his residence. Marion then was seen pacing back and forth on the balcony and repeatedly entered and exited his apartment. While doing this, he yelled profanities and was described as extremely hostile. At one point, he began to throw items from the balcony at nearby officers.
Marion’s roommate left the apartment and spoke with officers. The man reportedly told the officer that Marion had fired off the handgun but the roommate had managed to take the gun from Marion. The gun was still in the apartment and the roommate had a woman back in the apartment. The roommate then ran back into the apartment and began to argue with Marion.
When Marion left the apartment, officers used a Taser and the man was arrested after some resistance. Throughout the arrest, Marion was reportedly extremely vulgar and threatening toward officers.
During an investigation, officers found a 9mm handgun with a round in the chamber. Outside on the balcony officers located six fired 9mm casings. Marion admitted to officers he had consumed multiple alcoholic beverages that night. Officers were unable to locate any bullet holes in the residence and the investigation showed that Marion most likely fired in the direction of buy over the top of residences in the area. According to the charging document, it is unknown at this time where those bullets eventually stopped at and whether any property damage of injury to person or animal occurred as a result.
Marion’s bail was set at $100,000 and he was ordered not to have any firearms or be in any contact with any of the witnesses. He was also ordered not to consume any alcohol. Marion’s next court appearance is set for December 31st.
