Great Falls police say gunfire report led to 2 arrests overnight

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Great Falls police said reports of gunfire near 33rd Street North and 2nd Avenue North early April 21 helped officers connect a second call later that night and arrest one man.

According to the police release, 911 dispatchers got several calls at about 12:05 a.m. from people who heard gunfire outside their homes. Officers found shell casings about a block away but did not find any people or vehicles nearby.

Police said that officers checked surveillance video from several residents and talked with neighbors. The footage showed about eight rounds were fired before a light-colored passenger car left the area.

About an hour and a half later at 1:30 a.m., officers were sent to a business in the 1400 block of 10th Avenue South for a disturbance. Police said the caller reported a man and a woman in a light-colored vehicle were physically fighting.

The car left before officers arrived, but police said the caller helped officers find it a short distance away so they could stop it. Several people were inside, including 22-year-old Ethan Hathway and a 17-year-old boy.

Police reported both Hathway and the juvenile had handguns. Officers also found ammunition they said matched what was recovered earlier near 33rd Street North and 2nd Avenue North.

The 17-year-old was cited and released to his parents, according to police. The listed charges were operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentrate of 0.02% or greater while under age 21, careless driving and carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence.

Hathway was arrested and taken to the Cascade County Sheriff/Coroner's Office jail, police said. He was charged with negligent endangerment and unlawful discharge of a weapon within Great Falls city limits.