A man arrested during a 2024 standoff in Kalispell sparked over the volume of music later received a pair of suspended sentences in Flathead County District Court.  

Prosecutors initially charged Nathaniel Everett Wood, 32, with felony assault with a weapon and a misdemeanor count of obstructing a peace officer following the March 17, 2024 confrontation on Five Avenue North West. Wood pleaded not guilty that same month but struck a deal with the Flathead County Attorney's Office in August.  

As part of the agreement, he pleaded guilty to partner or family member assault and obstructing a peace officer, both misdemeanors, on Aug. 1, 2024.  

That same day, Judge Heidi Ulbricht handed down a one-year sentence in the county jail with all but one day suspended for the first count and a suspended six-month sentence for the second. The two were to run concurrently.  

Ulbricht gave Wood credit for 12 days of time served. She ordered him to complete a counseling assessment and pay $350 in fines and fees.  

The standoff allegedly began after Wood's girlfriend had put her children to bed. She asked him to turn down the volume on his music and he replied by racking a shotgun and leveling it at her, court documents said.  

“Ask me to turn down the music again,” he allegedly told her.  

The girlfriend later took possession of the gun and tossed it into the yard before calling 911 and fleeing outside, court documents said. Responding Kalispell Police officers told Wood by phone and public address system that he was under arrest. The regional SWAT team showed up after Wood refused to surrender, court documents said.  

After securing the release of the children, SWAT team personnel used non-lethal means to force Wood out of the home, according to court documents. 

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