Martin City man facing criminal endangerment charge pleads not guilty

Derrick Perkins, Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Mont.
·2 min read

Apr. 27—A Martin City man accused of dragging a person down a Columbia Falls street with his pickup in March pleaded not guilty to a single count of criminal endangerment earlier this month.

Wayne Robert Armstrong, 35, appeared before Judge Danni Coffman in Flathead County District Court for his arraignment on the felony charge on April 13. Armstrong, who remains behind bars, is scheduled to next appear in district court on April 27 for a bail modification hearing. His bail is set at $100,000.

Authorities picked Armstrong up in a bar in Marion following the March 31 disturbance on Nucleus Avenue in Columbia Falls, according to court documents. They began searching for Armstrong after a man recounted clinging to his pickup truck as Armstrong allegedly accelerated down the avenue, reaching speeds of 40 mph.

The disagreement between the two started after the victim allegedly spotted Armstrong back into a parked vehicle with his truck and confronted him. The victim said he jumped onto Armstrong's vehicle to avoid getting hit, court documents said.

Two witnesses corroborated the victim's account, according to court documents.

Investigators identified Armstrong as the likely culprit after the victim turned over license plate information, court documents said.

As a result of the allegations, prosecutors are seeking the revocation of a suspended sentence from a 2017 conviction of criminal endangerment. In that case, Armstrong pleaded no contest to the felony charge and received a 10 year sentence with the state Department of Corrections with five years suspended.

In a violation report filed in district court, Armstrong's probation and parole officer noted that Armstrong lacked motor vehicle insurance and possessed a suspended license. Armstrong admitted to consuming alcohol after the March 31 incident, according to the report.

In an April 20 district court hearing on the petition before Judge Heidi Ulbricht, Armstrong denied the allegations in the violation report, setting up a June 1 adjudicatory hearing.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.