Columbia Falls Man Sentenced After Gunfire Spree, Sheriff’s Helicopter Laser Attack

MISSOULA — A 57-year-old Columbia Falls man who menaced civilians with a firearm before targeting a law enforcement helicopter with a laser-mounted weapon was sentenced Tuesday to eight months in federal prison.

Travis Kurt Myers pleaded guilty in March to aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, but court documents reveal a pattern of escalating violence that preceded the helicopter incident.

The July confrontation began when Myers pointed a green laser at a delivery driver’s vehicle, then fired a gunshot. He subsequently pointed a gun at another witness and discharged it at the ground while deputies were responding to the scene.

“As deputies were interviewing the witness, they continued to hear gunshots coming from the area,” according to federal prosecutors. The ongoing gunfire prompted authorities to request aerial surveillance.

When a helicopter equipped with thermal cameras arrived, Myers “repeatedly pointed the firearm with a laser mounted on it at the helicopter,” court documents state. The pilots captured the laser activity on camera and observed Myers firing the weapon, though they were unsure whether it was aimed in their direction.

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen sentenced Myers in federal court in Missoula to eight months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $15,000 fine.

Ground officers near Myers’ residence could hear the helicopter overhead, “supporting Myers had knowledge he was aiming the laser at the helicopter,” prosecutors noted.

Law enforcement arrested Myers without incident and executed a search warrant on his property. The search uncovered numerous firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, an unregistered silencer, and a rifle equipped with a green laser.

While Myers faced only the federal charge of aiming a laser at an aircraft, the case highlights the broader public safety threat posed by his actions that day. Federal aviation safety laws provide clear jurisdiction for laser incidents involving aircraft, making such cases a priority for federal prosecutors.

“A Columbia Falls man who pointed a laser-mounted firearm at a helicopter was sentenced today,” U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said in a statement announcing the sentence.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.