BB-gun shooter back in jail for violating sentence

A former Polson man, who was convicted of shooting a man’s eye out with a BB gun, is back in jail for violating conditions of a six-year deferred sentence. Marshall Bigknife, 19, was given the deferred sentence in Polson District Court on Sept. 27, 2023, after reaching a plea agreement earlier.

According to court records, at about 1:15 a.m. Sept. 6, 2022, Polson Police responded to a report that a man on Main Street had an injury to his face. On scene, police witnessed an elderly man sleeping on a mattress in the alley off the 400 block of Main Street. The man claimed that he had been shot with a BB gun multiple times.

Bigknife was apprehended a short distance away. When questioned about the BB gun and where it might be, Bigknife was silent. He eventually admitted that he shot the man 15 to 16 times with a CO2-powered BB gun.

The victim was shot three times in his left eye and was initially treated at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson, before he was airlifted to a hospital in Missoula where he underwent multiple procedures.

Brendan McQuillan with the Lake County Attorney’s Office had indicated to Judge Molly Owen that certain evidence may not have been admissible should the case proceed to trial. In explaining the lenient sentence, he said statements from a key witness were contradictory and the BB gun was never located.

The victim in the case, David Vanhaverbeke, took the witness stand at sentencing and asked Bigknife “how would you like it?” He also explained that he still has a BB lodged in his brain and one in his cheek that are too dangerous to operate on. He also stated that he lost the use of his left eye and is losing vision in his right eye as a result of the shooting.

McQuillan says Bigknife’s violations of his deferred sentence include allegations that he absconded from supervision, did not pay restitution of $1,391.55 to his victim and other court fees, nor has he received court-ordered evaluations.

Judge Molly Owen set a hearing on a petition to revoke his original sentence for March 13. Bigknife remains in the Lake County Jail without bond.