An analysis by the Montana Forensic Science Division has found one of the weapons collected as evidence in a case against a man who allegedly issued online threats to shoot Kalispell school children and religious leaders was not in working order.

Public defender Brent Getty filed a motion last week to limit the prosecution’s use of the words “cache of weapons” to describe the guns found in the possession of David Lenio on Feb. 16, after a professional analysis found one of three guns collected as evidence was not operable.

Lenio is facing a felony intimidation charge after he allegedly went on several Twitter tirades between December 2014 and February 2015.

Among the Tweets prosecutors have flagged as inappropriate include one where he threatened to shoot up Kalispell schools and “score 30+.”

On  Feb. 12 Lenio allegedly tweeted: “I bet I could get at least 12 unarmed sitting ducks if I decide to go on a killing spree in a school. Sounds better than being a wage slave.”

Later that day he also wrote: “What do you think costs more in most U.S. cities? A gun with enough ammunition to kill 100 school kids or the security deposit on an apartment. ... What would I rather do? Be a #wage slave for the rest of my life or tell society f--- you & do your kids a favor by shooting up a #school?”

He also allegedly referred to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre and threatened to shoot local religious leaders.

The tweets were spotted by Jonathan Hutson, who was a spokesperson for the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence at the time. Hutson did not have much information to go on because Lenio listed his address as “Cascadia” on Twitter, which is now believed to be a reference to a goal some white supremacists have of creating a sustainable nation in the Pacific Northwest. At the time, Hutson thought it might mean Cascadia, Oregon, so he started with authorities outside of Montana, but Hutson, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and several local authorities eventually traced Lenio to Kalispell.

Lenio was arrested while driving home from skiing in Whitefish. His roommate told police he had brought guns and ammunition to the house the night before.

After obtaining a search warrant, officers found a 9-mm semi-automatic rifle and a Russian-made bolt-action rifle. Lenio’s vehicle contained a .32 caliber semi-automatic pistol and more ammunition. Marijuana and jugs of urine also were found in the vehicle.

Getty claims that police knew the 9-mm semi-automatic rifle was not a real threat because Lenio’s parents had told Michigan police, who relayed it to Oregon authorities that he “may have a deer rifle in his possession, but per his parents and brother, it might be missing parts and probably isn’t functional.”

Forensic scientists found that the gun had multiple missing parts and that others were misaligned.

Getty argues that allowing witnesses to refer to Lenio’s guns as a “cache of weapons” is a misstatement of fact.

“It has now been established as fact that the rifle ‘does not function as received.’” Getty wrote. “Therefore, any relevance of the rifle and its movement undermines the state’s petition and has the tendency to show that it was less probable that Mr. Lenio’s Twitter communications were intended as ‘true threats.’”

It is an argument Hutson doesn’t buy into.

“Rifles are weapons, and a collection of stored items is a ‘cache,’” Hutson said. “After threatening to shoot school kids and Jewish leaders, Lenio retrieved from his storage locker two rifles and ammunition for the rifles and for his semi-automatic handgun. Police found those three guns, along with marijuana, a pipe, and jugs of urine, in Lenio’s possession.”

Hutson also questioned whether the one rifle’s functionality was relevant.

“It would be fair to speculate whether Lenio was retreiving the guns to clean them and get them in working order,” Hutson said. “If the guns were useless junk, then why did Lenio transport them from Michigan to Kalispell in the first place? On the day he moved to Kalispell, December 30, he tweeted five times his intention to shoot up a grade school in Kalispell.”

Prosecutor Stacy Boman wrote in a court filing made Wednesday that the prosecution would not use the words “cache of weapons” at trial. Hutson filed his own explanation with the court arguing that the words were accurate and should be permitted.

Hutson said he has been in contact with the FBI and Michigan authorities who say they are looking into whether or not Lenio broke terms of his release from jail by tweeting more hateful messages during August. Authorities for those agencies were not available for comment to verify that claim. Lenio was ordered to not use social media while awaiting trial. Hutson spotted messages online last week that he claims violated the terms of release more than 300 times.  

Lenio’s attorney has declined to comment on the alleged violations of conditions of release.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or [email protected].