HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – A Havre man is facing several pending charges, including felony assault with a weapon, after allegedly hanging onto a moving vehicle and pointing a gun inside it while under the influence of meth.
Wesley Julius Brekhus, 37, is also facing the misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon while intoxicated.
Havre Police Captain Aaron Wittmer says that at 4:32 PM on Friday, dispatch received a report of a disturbance by the Budget Inn.
Officers arrived and did not find anything, but at 4:36 PM, they received a call regarding a male hanging on the back of a white Chevy Malibu in the alley by the Zip Trip on 1st Street.
Officers headed towards the area and found the car by Custom Collision.
Officers located Brekhus, who Wittmer says appeared to be in a sort of paranoid meth psychosis and was not making sense, and was saying he was looking for someone that took his money.
Brekhus told law enforcement that the person who took his money got into the car, so he jumped into the back of it. Witnesses say he punched and broke the window and pointed a 380 auto Smith and Wesson Pistol at them.
When speaking with law enforcement, Brekhus allegedly tried to pull the pistol out of his front pocket. Officers grabbed it before he could and placed him in handcuffs.
Wittmer says surveillance video shows that Brekhus did pull a gun on a passenger of the vehicle.
There were three passengers in the vehicle, two males and a female. The female, 34-year-old Wilma Howard of Harlem, allegedly jumped out of the vehicle at Custom Collision, went inside the building, changed clothes, and left the scene. Officers identified her by what she left inside Custom Collision, and she was arrested on Saturday, with Wittmer stating she drug items on her person. She faces a misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia charge and had a felony warrant out of Blaine County District Court.
The other two passengers of the vehicle are not facing charges, and the investigation has concluded.
Other than an injury to Brekhus’ hand and damage to the window of the Chevy Malibu, no damage or injuries were reported.
Law enforcement spoke with everyone involved in the incident.
It is unclear what the relationship was between Brekhus and Howard, as conflicting statements were provided by witnesses.
Wittmer says that Brekhus is well known to local law enforcement, as they have dealt with him several times over the past few months.
