KALISPELL — A California man accused in the death of a Whitefish man outside of the VFW Bar and Grill in Whitefish last summer was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center on Sunday.
Xavier Chenault, 22, of Sacramento, is being charged with felony negligent homicide in the death of 25-year-old Steven Speer.
According to charging documents, Whitefish Police were called to the VFW Bar and Grill on July 30 where they found Speer unresponsive with a severe head injury.
Individuals at the scene -- including Chenault -- indicated to officers that no fight had occurred and informed officers that Speer was intoxicated and had fallen to the ground.
A Whitefish Police Department investigation -- including security footage and interviews with additional witnesses -- found that Speer had been in an altercation with Chenault and that the victim had been knocked to the ground.
Speer was transported to the hospital on the night of the incident and later died from his injuries on August 2.
An autopsy report from the Montana State Crime Lab in Missoula indicated that Speer died as a result of blunt force injuries of the head.
The Whitefish Police Department worked with law enforcement in California to locate Chenault after he fled to that state following the incident.
Chenault faces up to 20 years in Montana State Prison and a maximum fine of $50,000 if found guilty on the charges.
Chenault is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be arranged in Flathead County District Court on Jan. 21.
