Man sentenced for stalking charges
courtesy photo
James McGuire
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A St. Ignatius man was committed to the Montana Department of Corrections for a total five years for violating probation. Judge James Manley imposed the sentence at District Court in Polson on June 9 in the case of James Joseph McGuire, 38.
McGuire was on probation for assault with a weapon and violating an order of protection, and the charges stemmed from incidents involving his former wife in 2017. While on probation, McGuire was charged with 13 counts of privacy in communications for harassing another woman starting in 2019.
The woman reported to Lake County authorities on Nov. 15, 2020, that the harassment escalated to the point that she feared for her safety. The charges were filed after an extensive investigation of mobile phone records.
McGuire entered into a plea agreement that amended the new charges from 13 counts of privacy in communication, 11 of which were felonies, to one count of stalking and two counts of privacy in communication, all misdemeanors.
Manley sentenced McGuire to a total of two and a half years in the Lake County jail with all that time suspended on the new charges to run consecutive to the five year DOC sentence. McGuire was also ordered to attend a batterer’s intervention program and pay restitution of $2,530.67.
