A Powell area man was reportedly shot on Friday evening in Basin, suffering serious injuries. He was described as being in stable condition at a Billings hospital as of Monday.

Authorities have released little information about the incident amid an ongoing investigation, leaving the circumstances unclear.

On Monday, Jan. 12, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Commander Ryan Cox told the Tribune that "there was [an] altercation between two adult males, and one of the adult males was shot with a handgun during the altercation.”

Dillon McFadyen, a 33-year-old Basin resident, was arrested for a probation violation following the incident, but he has not been charged with any crimes connected to the shooting itself.

“At this time the incident is under investigation and no one has been identified as the shooter,” Big Horn County Prosecuting Attorney Marcia Bean said in a Wednesday, Jan. 7, email.

Basin police turned the case over to the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

Given that Basin has only three officers and limited resources, “it was just determined that … the best course to get a full and complete investigation done was to have DCI do that investigation,” Basin Police Chief Kyle McClure explained in a Wednesday interview.

The incident

The first call to authorities came around 6:30 p.m. Friday, with a report of two gunshots and yelling near a residence on South Eighth Street in Basin, according to Big Horn County Sheriff’s logs. Chief McClure said the shooting took place outside, in the vicinity of an apartment complex where records show McFadyen lives.

Personnel from several local and state agencies responded to the scene.

When a Basin police officer arrived, he contacted McFadyen and saw he was “visibly intoxicated,” according to an affidavit composed by McClure. A portable breath test later put McFadyen’s blood alcohol level at 0.15%, which is nearly twice the level at which a person is considered to be too impaired to drive.

McClure declined to release any information about the parties involved in the incident. However, the chief told the Basin Republican Rustler that preliminary reports indicated the only people involved were the victim and the shooter, and his affidavit says McFadyen — who was not the victim — “was involved in the incident.”

Probation revoked

McFadyen was interviewed on Friday night by DCI, but Basin police wound up arresting him. The arrest stemmed from McFadyen’s admission to drinking alcohol, as probation conditions imposed in early November barred him from drinking.

Court records show the probation stemmed from a July 29 incident, also at McFadyen’s South Eighth Street apartment. Charging documents say that McFadyen’s sister, who was sharing the apartment with him, reported that McFadyen had broken out their windows during an argument.

Basin police arrested McFadyen that July evening and he wound up spending the next 100 days in jail, held on a $1,000 bond, court records indicate.

McFadyen was released to six months of supervised probation on Nov. 5, after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of property destruction. McFadyen had been intoxicated when he broke the $600 worth of windows, court records indicate, and he was barred from consuming alcohol while on probation.

However, at a Monday appearance in Big Horn County Circuit Court, McFadyen admitted that he drank at a Greybull restaurant on Friday night.

Following his admission, Deputy Big Horn County Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Kirk recommended that McFadyen be ordered to serve 80 more days in jail — the full amount of time that had originally been suspended in favor of probation.

McFadyen did not object to the prosecutor’s recommendation.

“I apologize,” he told the court. “I know I messed up, and I’m willing to do my time.”

Big Horn County Circuit Court Magistrate Randy Royal went along with the recommendation —- noting McFadyen had 76 more days to serve from Monday. The shooting was not mentioned.

As of Wednesday, McFadyen remained in the Big Horn County Detention Center in Basin.

(Editor's note: This story was updated on Monday, Jan. 12 with additional information from DCI.)