Man pleads not guilty to charges linked to Whitefish shooting

A Rollins man accused of firing a gun from a vehicle in Whitefish in May that injured a bystander with a ricochet pleaded not guilty to amended charges on July 6.

Wilson Dane Huyser, 33, entered the plea before Judge Heidi Ulbricht during his arraignment in Flathead County District Court. Initially charged with felony criminal endangerment following the May 14 shooting, prosecutors later added one count of assault with a weapon.

Ulbricht scheduled Huyser’s omnibus hearing for Oct. 5 with a pretrial conference to follow on Nov. 30. Were the case to go to trial, it would begin in early 2023.

Huyser’s attorney, Cierra Anderson, asked for a bond reduction hearing to follow the arraignment. Huyser was initially held on $75,000 bail, but released on his own recognizance with conditions. Authorities hauled him back into custody on June 23 after the addition of the assault with a weapon charge. He remains in the Flathead County Detention Center with bail set at $150,000.

Ulbricht denied Anderson’s request, citing her busy schedule that day. She advised Anderson to file a motion to schedule a hearing.

Prosecutors allege that Huyser fired a gun as he exited the parking structure attached to Whitefish City Hall about 11 p.m., May 14. A ricochet from one of the rounds struck a woman in the eye, leaving her hospitalized.

Through the use of surveillance footage, witness accounts and a copy of Huyser’s driver’s license, investigators deemed the 33-year-old the likely culprit. When authorities in Lake County arrested him, they found handguns and a spent casing in his vehicle, court documents said.