A Flathead County jury last week acquitted a man accused of shooting another man following a parking dispute in Kalispell in September 2023.

Prosecutors charged John David Walker, 71, with assault with a weapon in connection with the Sept. 27 shooting. Following a three-day trial in Flathead County District Court, jurors spent about two hours deliberating before returning with a not guilty verdict on November 14.

County Attorney Travis Ahner prosecuted the case while attorney Stephen Nardi served as Walker’s defense attorney. Judge Heidi Ulbricht presided over the case.

The alleged confrontation took place in the parking lot of Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply on US 93, according to court documents. Responding Kalispell police officers found Timothy Saxer on the ground suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

After receiving care at Logan Health Medical Center, Saxer told investigators he found a red pickup truck parked on the store’s handicap ramp, according to court documents. He waited to speak with the driver, later identified as Walker, and the two began exchanging words and insults.

Saxer admitted to pushing his shopping cart up the ramp, where it hit the truck, court documents said. An angry Walker pulled a gun on Saxer, who hit him in the head, court documents allege. Walker shot Saxer, according to court documents.

A witness told investigators they saw two men arguing in the parking lot and saw Saxer hit Walker. The witness said he was walking by when he heard several gunshots, according to court documents.

Another witness said he heard a gunshot while sitting in his parked truck. He told investigators he saw Walker shooting in the parking lot. He convinced Walker to hand him the gun, court documents said.

Walker allegedly told the second witness that Saxer swore at him and hit him.

When officers arrested Walker, they confiscated a loaded magazine from him, court documents said.

Walker told them he needed medical attention for the blow to the head. He also made a phone call, telling the person on the other end of the line that he was “under arrest for shooting someone in self-defense,” court documents state.

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