Dispute over trailer ends in gunfire in Kalispell

Derrick Perkins, Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Mont.
·3 min read
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Jul. 18—A pair of brothers face felony charges after a disagreement over a utility trailer near Kalispell last week allegedly ended in gunfire.

Prosecutors have filed charges of assault with a weapon against Cory Lyle Mitchell, 36, and Cody Lee Mitchell, 39, following the alleged July 13 shooting on Conrad Drive. Initially booked into the county jail with bail set at $75,000, both men have since been released.

Cory Mitchell is expected to appear before Judge Heidi Ulbricht in Flathead County District Court on Aug. 1 for his arraignment. Cody Mitchell is scheduled to be arraigned before Judge Dan Wilson on Aug. 8.

The pair were arrested after Cory Mitchell alerted authorities to the shooting about 7:04 p.m., according to court documents. He told dispatchers he had opened fire on a man stealing a trailer, court documents said.

Cory Mitchell allegedly reported hitting the man's truck tire three times and put one round in the door. He said he thought at least one of the bullets struck the man, according to court documents.

The man in the truck called emergency responders about the same time, court documents said.

Deputies with the Flathead County Sheriff's Office headed to the Mitchells' property on Conrad Drive as well as the victim's home, court documents said.

The victim told investigators he had left the utility trailer — later determined to belong to his girlfriend's father — on the brothers' land while working for the pair. The duo had since told him that they were keeping the trailer as compensation for damage done to the transmission of another vehicle, court documents said.

Cody Mitchell allegedly texted the victim telling him to "come over here and get [the trailer] and see what happens."

The victim responded by arriving at the Conrad Drive property with his truck, court documents said. While he was hooking the trailer up, Cody Mitchell allegedly came up to him and aimed a gun at his head before shooting at the tire of the truck.

As the victim pulled away, he said that Cory Mitchell ran up to the pickup truck, also armed with a firearm, according to court documents. Cory Mitchell allegedly aimed at the victim before opening fire.

"I thought I was dead," the victim told investigators. "Where it was aiming when it went off, I thought for sure I was dead."

He recalled both men firing at him as he drove off, court documents said.

Investigators found a hole in the side wall of a tire and a dent in the rim "consistent with being hit with a bullet," court documents said. The victim also turned over bullet fragments he collected from the interior side wall of the truck's tire.

The Mitchell brothers surrendered a pair of firearms to authorities in the subsequent investigation. Deputies also recovered several spent shell casings on their property, court documents said.

While Cody Mitchell initially denied pulling the trigger during the confrontation, both men ultimately admitted to shooting at the victim's truck, court documents alleged.

Assault with a weapon is punishable by up to 20 years in Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine.

Cody Lee Mitchell. (Photo courtesy the Flathead County Sheriff's Office)

Cory Lyle Mitchell. (Photo courtesy the Flathead County Sheriff's Office)