On the night of February 28, 2019, 30-year-old Matthew Adam Posey Darnell of Polson was shot multiple times on Division Street in Pablo, Montana. The Lake County 911 center got a call about 10:30 p.m.; responding Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes officers, Lake County deputies and Montana Highway Patrol troopers found Darnell in the street with several gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital and died a short time later. His body was sent to the state crime lab in Missoula for autopsy.

Investigators focused on a local man, 29-year-old Daniel Chance Blixt of Pablo, who was arrested and charged with deliberate homicide. After parking down the road, an argument erupted outside the residence; Darnell left the vehicle and ran toward Blixt, who then drew a handgun and fired multiple shots when Darnell was a few feet away. Blixt called 911 and said he had acted in self-defense. A jury later returned a not guilty verdict on the deliberate homicide charge after a three-day trial.