Lake County District Court news for Jan. 22, 2014
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Judge James A. Manley dealt with the following cases Wednesday, Jan. 15:
Jeremy Smithson, 28, Polson, pleaded not guilty to burglary, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Wednesday, Feb. 12 and a jury is set to begin Monday, March 31.
According to court documents, charges stem from a February 2013 incident where Smithson was allegedly involved in stealing laptop computers from the home of a relative. The victim saw a man loading computers into the trunk of a silver car, and when the victim tried to stop him, the thief got in the car — driven by a female with two other men inside. The driver drove the car through wire fences and across a field. The victim did not attempt to pursue the car.
Officers came and found broken plastic car parts and a license plate in the field. Officers later located the silver car, which was missing a front license plate and had damage consistent with driving through barbed wire fences. The back license plate matched the front. The vehicle was identified as belonging to a female. Nearby in a ditch, two men were apprehended; one had a laptop computer stuffed down the front of his shirt and a laptop charger in his pocket. Officers also found a shotgun in the ditch. The victim identified the shotgun and computer as items stolen from his home, and the description matched that of the man stealing from the victim.
Also, the victim found a backpack in his home that belonged to Smithson, and the victim recognized the man’s name as a friend who had been with Smithson in the victim’s home previously.
The victim said in addition to the computer and shotgun, other guns and portable electronic devices were also missing.
Dessilyn Brown, 25, Polson, in a change of plea admitted committing the offense of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. The court found Brown guilty. Sentencing is set for Wednesday, Feb. 19.
According to court documents, charges stem from an October 2013 incident in Polson were Brown was arrested for a suspected attempted burglary. She admitted to an officer that she was going through rough financial and personal times and had snorted methamphetamine that night. At a nail salon, she cut open a screen and used a screwdriver and credit card to attempt to open the window. Instead, the window broke.
She told the officer she was going to break in to do her nails.
After she was arrested, her boyfriend brought her purse to jail. In a search, officers found meth in a baggie plus several syringes, a spoon and a cotton ball.
Jeana Hill, 36, Bigfork, in a change of plea admitted committing the offense of criminal possession with intent to distribute, a felony. The court found her guilty, and sentencing was set for Wednesday, Feb. 19.
According to court documents, charges stem from a September 2013 incident where officers with a search warrant found Hill and her son and another person in the home with multiple bags of methamphetamine and a scale. In jail, Hill admitted that the drugs were intended for sale, and she had provided her son with the meth officers found on him.
Sean Lozeau, 26, Ronan, in a change of plea admitted committing three felony counts of criminal endangerment, amended from Lozeau’s original three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The court found Lozeau guilty. Sentencing is set for Wednesday, Feb. 19. Lozeau was credited for time served and was released until the sentencing date, with the stipulation that he not contact the three alleged victims.
According to court documents, charges stem from a September 2013 incident where Lozeau fired a .40 caliber handgun into a vehicle with three people inside at the Pache home sites.
Lozeau was intoxicated and upset that his girlfriend disrespected his rapping skills, and was instigating fights. When the three people decided to leave, Lozeau fired a shot at them. The three people told officers they heard something hit the vehicle, so they sped away. Officers located a spent shell on the porch and a bullet hole in the right front fender of the car.
Judge Kim Deborah Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, Jan. 16:
Mose Moulton, 35, Plains, admitted violating conditions of parole and probation by testing positive for drugs on Sept. 9, 2013. Moulton had his deferred sentence for criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony, revoked. Moulton was sentenced to Montana State Prison for five years, with none suspended.
Cody Staley, 30, Polson, in a change of plea admitted committing the offense of driving while under the influence of alcohol, fourth or subsequent offense, a felony. The court found Staley guilty. Sentencing was set for Thursday, Feb. 20.
According to court documents, charges stem from a May 2013 incident where a Sheriff’s deputy responded to a one-vehicle wreck on Minesinger Road. Staley had crashed the car while driving intoxicated. Records showed he had three prior DUI convictions, which included a vehicular assault in the state of Washington.
Athena Scharnhorst, 42, Pablo, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Thursday, Feb. 13 and a jury trial for Monday, March 24.
According to court documents, charges stem from an August 2013 incident where a deputy found Scharnhorst slumped over behind the wheel of a car in the middle of an intersection near St. Ignatius. She was taken by ambulance to St. Luke hospital with a suspected drug overdose. Although Scharnhorst could barely keep her eyes open and her speech was slow, slurred and raspy, she said she was “messed up” and that she had injected drugs into her ankles. A substance suspected to be methamphetamine was found in her purse.
Bradley Stephen Hout, 24, Missoula, was sentenced to Montana State Prison for two years after his 2008 deferred sentence for burglary was revoked in district court on Jan. 9.
Judge James A. Manley dealt with the following cases Wednesday, Jan. 8:
Philip Friscia, 27, Polson, in a change of plea admitted committing the offense of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. The court found him guilty and set Wednesday, Feb. 12 as the date for his sentencing. Friscia was released to probation until sentencing.
According to court documents, charges stem from an October 2012 incident where methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were found in Friscia’s after he was arrested on a warrant.
Robert Charles Wyman, 65, Bigfork, in a change of plea admitted committing the offenses of partner or family member assault, a misdemeanor and an amended felony offense of criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
According to court documents, charges stem from a June 2011 incident where Wyman allegedly pointed a revolver at his wife and stated that he was going to kill her. He then beat her, causing a black eye and other bruises.
Law enforcement also found marijuana in the home.
Tyler Erickson, 20, Polson, in a change of plea admitted committing the offense of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. The court found Erickson guilty and set sentencing for Wednesday, Feb. 12.
According to court documents, charges stem from an October 2013 incident where his mother called the police after an altercation with Erickson. He had woken his mother at 3:30 a.m., demanding money from her, or a rifle. She had hidden the rifle, fearing he would pawn it for drug money. Erickson was upset and started breaking and throwing things.
The mother told the responding officer that she believed her son was using methamphetamine, and that he had only slept three hours in the last two days. She had also witnessed him using a hypodermic needle.
The officer could see drug paraphernalia in a bedroom, and after obtaining a warrant, the officer located drug paraphernalia with a residue consistent with methamphetamine.
Brian Wollam, 34, Charlo, in a change of plea, admitted committing offenses of criminal endangerment, a felony, and false alarms to agencies of public safety, a misdemeanor. The court found Wollam guilty. Sentencing is deferred until Wednesday, Aug. 6, because the plea bargain calls for Wollam to do 200 hours of community service prior to sentencing.
According to court documents, charges stem from a January 2013 incident where Lake County dispatch received a 911 hang-up call. Dispatch returned the call and spoke to Wollam, who said his friend had hit black ice and rolled his Jeep on an unknown corner, and the friend could not find one of the three people who had been in the vehicle. Wollam said the friend was pretty shaken up, that the friend had been driving from Missoula to Charlo. Wollam reported that there was blood all over the Jeep.
Dispatch attempted to call the friend’s number, but the call went straight to voicemail.
A few minutes later, dispatch received a call from a woman who reported that Wollam had been texting her, stating that he had rolled a Jeep, that his head was bleeding badly, and that his friend was dead. Wollam would not tell her the location of the crash. She also said Wollam was supposed to come over to fix her vehicle, but the deal went fishy and he’s been crazy since then.
Officers were dispatched all over the southern end of Lake County in an attempt to locate the wrecked Jeep, driving on roads that were covered in black ice.
As officers were heading to Wollam’s residence in Charlo, a deputy noticed a vehicle making a turn without signaling, and pulled it over on Highway 212. The driver was Wollam, the passenger was the friend. Wollam stated he had nothing to do with the 911 calls.
The deputy then asked Wollam to take a few minutes to decide if he was going to be truthful. The deputy then observed Wollam fall over without making any attempt to catch his fall. Wollam told the deputy he has Wolff-Parkinson-White-Syndrome, which causes him to black out when nervous. After ambulance personnel checked Wollam out, he admitted to a deputy that he’d reported the crash in an effort to avoid the woman, but it had snowballed into a major issue. When he told the woman he was in an accident, she said she would call the police, so he called 911 first. He also said he used to be a first responder and had responded to similar fake calls.
Derrick Shields, 51, Pablo, was sentenced to Department of Corrections for 13 months plus three years with all suspended to run concurrent for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fourth or subsequent offense.
According to court documents, charges stem from a July 2013 incident where Shields was arrested for driving intoxicated after crashing though a fence near Sloan Road and Round Butte Road.
Misty Whitworth, 37, Ronan, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years, all suspended, for two counts of criminal endangerment and one count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, all felonies. She was also sentenced to five years, none suspended, for a deferred sentence of forgery, which was previously revoked. Whitworth will be screened for treatment.
