Courts
A Lake County man was sentenced in District Court at Polson on Jan. 22 to three years with the Montana Department of Corrections with no time suspended on the amended charge of criminal endangerment. Jonathan Wayne Snyder, 40, was initially charged with sexual intercourse without consent for an incident that occurred on Feb. 18, 2019. According to court records, Snyder made unwanted advances toward the niece of his ex-girlfriend while at his residence. Snyder and the alleged victim had gone to the residence so Snyder could receive gas money after he had given the victim a ride so that she could get her identification from a vehicle in an impound lot. The victim told Deputy Da...
A former Polson man who could be a key figure in a Polson woman’s mysterious disappearance in 2005 was sentenced at District Court in Polson on Jan. 16 to 20 years in the Montana State Prison with 10 years suspended for violating conditions of parole in an unrelated matter. William Earl Gholson, 60,...
When victims of domestic violence do not participate in the prosecution of their alleged perpetrator or make themselves available to prosecutors for various personal reasons, criminal charges get dismissed, which was the case for Christopher James Irvine, 45, of Pablo. He was facing up to 10 years i...
A Pablo man was sentenced at District Court in Polson on Jan. 8 to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections with no time suspended for selling methamphetamine while on probation, which also resulted from selling meth. David Lawrence Irvine, 74, was still serving a sentence handed down by the ...
Andrew Joseph Bybee, 38, of Polson, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson on Jan. 8 to several felonies, including felony strangulation of a partner or family member, felony assault with a weapon and three counts of privacy in communications, one being a felony. According to court recor...
A Ronan woman, who entered a plea of guilty in an earlier court appearance to two felony counts of criminal child endangerment and felony criminal endangerment, was sentenced to a total of 30 years with the Montana State Department of Corrections. All but five years of the sentence were suspended. J...
A Woods Bay man was sentenced at District Court in Polson on Dec. 4 to the Montana State Department of Corrections for five years with no time suspended for solicitation of tampering with witnesses and informants, a felony. He was also sentenced to one year in jail for misdemeanor partner or family member as...
A Ronan man was sentenced at District Court in Polson on Dec. 5 to a total of six years with the Montana State Department of Corrections with all suspended but time served of 73 days in the Lake County Jail. Jay Calvin Smith, 31, was sentenced to two years, all suspended, for felony theft; two years, all ...
A third co-defendant in a Bigfork storage unit theft has been sent to the Montana State Prison for a total of 20 years with 14 years suspended. Richard Gordon, 50, was given 10 years with seven years suspended for theft and 10 years with seven years suspended for money laundering. He was also ordered to p...
A Columbia Falls woman accused of smuggling drugs into the Lake County jail has pled guilty to criminal distribution of dangerous drugs. Erin Elizabeth Carnahan, 24, entered her plea at District Court in Polson on Nov. 21 as part of a plea agreement that will dismiss two other charges at sentencing....
