A Kalispell man who allegedly pulled a gun on his wife while drunk and high earlier this year earned a pair of suspended jail sentences in September.  

Joashua Allen Willard, 45, initially pleaded not guilty to felony criminal endangerment and misdemeanor tampering with a communication device in connection with the alleged June 7 confrontation on Fourth Avenue West. He was arraigned before Judge Heidi Ulbricht in Flathead County District Court on June 19.  

But Willard had changed his tune by August, when he took a deal with prosecutors. In exchange for a guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to amend the charges to misdemeanor counts of negligent endangerment and assault.  

Under the terms of the deal, prosecutors planned to recommend Willard receive a suspended one-year jail sentence for negligent endangerment and a suspended six-month jail sentence for assault. 

Ulbricht stuck to the deal at Willard's Sept. 4 sentencing. She also gave him credit for four days of time served on each sentence and ordered him to pay a combined $560 in court fines and fees.  

Willard's gunplay began after a day of drinking heavily and smoking marijuana, according to court documents. His wife told arriving Kalispell Police officers that she confronted him after he started yelling at the children.  

Willard allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband and stuck it next to her head, aiming at the house. He later fired the gun into the ground, court documents said.  

When his frightened wife told him to leave and warned that she was calling the police, Willard grabbed her and her daughter's mobile phones, according to court documents.  

During an interview with investigators, Willard allegedly admitted to getting angry, but said he was upset after his wife argued with him about his girlfriend. He also admitted to aiming the gun at the house and firing it into the ground, court documents said.  

Willard allegedly told investigators he took the mobile phones, but said it occurred before his wife threatened to call the police. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].