A 30-year-old Flathead Valley man is facing a felony charge after allegedly wounding his young child with a shotgun blast during a family argument late last month.  

Joseph Salo is expected to appear before Judge Amy Eddy in Flathead County District Court on Tuesday for his arraignment on an assault on a minor charge. Authorities are holding him in the county jail with bail set at $100,000.  

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office began investigating Salo after Logan Health Medical Center personnel reported treating a child for a gunshot wound at about 4:14 a.m., Feb. 23. Hospital officials told the authorities that the child's grandparents had brought her to the facility.  

Heading to the family home in Evergreen, deputies met Salo’s girlfriend, who told them that she, Salo and their two children lived with her parents. She recounted arguing with her parents — who wanted Salo and her out of the house — when the shotgun went off, according to court documents.  

The gun fired from within her bedroom and Salo was the only person inside when the blast occurred, court documents said. The woman, who was holding her young child when the gun went off, felt what she described as "shrapnel" hitting her. Looking at her child, she saw blood, court documents said.  

The child later received treatment for about 20 wounds consistent with shotgun pellets on her legs and lower abdomen, according to court documents. 

Salo told his girlfriend that the shotgun blast was an accident, court documents alleged.  

Both she and Salo drank alcohol before the confrontation, she told deputies, according to court documents. The pair are also on methadone, she allegedly said. 

Deputies found Salo unconscious behind the wheel of his vehicle in the Logan Health Medical Center parking lot. He recounted the argument to investigators and said his girlfriend came into their bedroom asking for the shotgun, according to court documents. He remembered her allegedly taking it from the closet and possibly loading it.  

The gun was eventually left leaning against a bedroom wall. Salo recounted dropping the gun while putting it back in the closet, but couldn't recall how it went off, according to court documents.  

After arriving at the hospital, Salo said he began drinking from a flask and dozed off, court documents said. Investigators sought a preliminary breath test, which returned at 0.200, according to court documents.  

A search of Salo's belongings turned up a tin bandage container, which contained two jewel bags with white residue suspected of being methamphetamine or opioid residue, court documents alleged. Investigators also turned up a bottle labelled methadone, but contained a clear substance inconsistent with the opioid medication, which is used to treat substance abuse and pain. Authorities sent both the substance and the jewel bags to the Montana Crime Lab. 

Assault on a minor is punishable by up to 10 years behind bars and a fine of $50,000.  

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