Woman to serve 20 years for assault
Linda Sappington
Tammie Lee Fisher (Ortega)
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A woman who admitted to assaulting people in both Lake and Sanders counties was sentenced to Montana State Prison for 20 years on five separate felony charges that include theft and criminal possession of drugs. All sentences run concurrently.
Court documents note that on July 5, 2015, Tammie Lee Fisher (Ortega), 46, was arrested on a warrant out of Tribal Court for failure to appear, and meth was found in a black bag in her bra.
Then on Aug. 5, 2015, Fisher went to an Arlee residence and attacked a male with a hatchet, cutting him on his cheek and on the back of his neck, and then drove off in his Jeep without his permission. A short time later law enforcement found the Jeep on fire on Arlee Pines Road. The Jeep was destroyed.
Five days later, Fisher broke into a woman’s apartment in Hot Springs, threatened her with a gun and then attacked her with a 16-inch metal pipe, according to a court document. A short while later, Fisher shot through the door of a man’s residence in Hot Springs, shooting him in the side of his torso.
“You are an incredible threat to people when you are out and under the influence,” Judge Deborah Kim Christopher told Fisher. “The fact that you haven’t killed anybody yet is amazing. You managed to spread … assault across two counties. I need you to be locked up until you change.”
Montana State Prison could hold her until she turns 66 years old, Christopher noted.
“I don’t have a lot of confidence that change is going to get made without significant support,” Christopher added.
In the Sanders County case, which was conducted in Lake County court via Vision Net, Fisher was sentenced to MSWP for 20 years for aggravated burglary and 20 years for assault with a weapon. A third count was dismissed per a plea agreement. In the Lake County cases, Fisher was sentenced to MSWP for 10 years for felony theft and 10 years with five suspended for criminal possession of dangerous drugs. Two other drug charges were dropped, and Fisher — who said she started meth because her kids were doing it — is to forfeit all items confiscated when she was arrested.
Fisher must also pay restitution and will be eligible for parole, but Christopher said she will caution the parole board that every time Fisher is in a situation where drugs are available, it creates a potential for someone to get hurt.
“I hope that you get the chance to straighten this out. If you care about your kids, instead of smoking meth with them you will set an example for them,” Christopher said.
