Seaborn Larson

Great Falls Tribune

A Great Falls man was arrested early Wednesday morning after allegedly pointing a handgun at a woman he believed was a drunk driver.

Alvin Litostansky Jr. is charged with assault with a weapon, a felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and a $50,000 penalty.

Great Falls police responded shortly after midnight on April 4 to the 1800-block of 10th Avenue South, where a woman reported another driver had pointed a handgun at her.

The officer found the vehicle described by the woman about five blocks away and initiated a traffic stop, then commanded the driver to exit the vehicle at gunpoint because of the alleged presence of a firearm. According to court documents, the driver, Litostansky, complied with commands and allowed the officer to place him in handcuffs.

The officer told Litostansky he needed to take him to the police department for an interview and, according to court documents, Litostansky gave the officer permission to take possession of the four firearms in his vehicle, one of which matched the description of the handgun described by the woman.

During an interview, Litostansky reportedly told the officer he had been following a pickup truck near Sand Coulee and believed the driver ahead of him was intoxicated because the truck was swerving on the road. Litostansky allegedly told officers he followed the truck into Great Falls and turned west on 10th Avenue South. Eventually the truck stopped, he said, so he stopped and got out of his vehicle to “see if the other driver was on drugs,” although he said he did not have a firearm when he got out of his vehicle. Shortly after, both Litostansky and the other driver, presumably the woman who called 911, left.

The woman reportedly told police that Litostansky was the one driving aggressively behind her near Sand Coulee. Once they got to town, Litostansky’s vehicle got ahead of hers and he stepped out on the road, pointing a handgun with a green laser at her. The handgun found in Litostansky’s vehicle reportedly had a green laser, and the officer reported speaking with four other people who corroborated the woman’s story.

According to court documents, Litostansky previously has been convicted for driving under the influence and obstructing a peace officer.

The state requested his bail be set at $10,000.