Articles with the Tag: Crime
POLSON –A 30-year-old Browning woman faces criminal child endangerment charges following two separate incidents. Rena Diachell Ladd was charged following a Sept. 8, 2016 incident in which a vehicle crossed Montana Highway 35 and struck a utility pole. Minor children aged 2 and 4 were in the ve...
POLSON – A 53-year-old man with 10 DUIs was sentenced to 10 years in the Montana State Prison last week for violating his probation. Harlan Gerald Vaska of Missoula was sentenced by Judge Kim Christopher. Prosecuting attorney James Lapotka said Vaska was cited for engaging in a bar fi...
POLSON – A 29-year-old Ronan man was sentenced last week to 20 years in the Montana State Prison with 15 suspended for sexual assault of a three-year-old girl. Christopher Cox initially said he saw a 13-year-old committing the crime in November 2015, and later said he wasn’t sure but eve...
By Caleb M. Soptelean/Valley Journal POLSON – For the third time since 2011, Vaughn David James has defeated a rape charge. James, 44, of Polson, won at trial last week when a 9-woman, 3-man jury voted 10-2 in favor of conviction, resulting in a hung jury and a mistrial. Jury trials require...
POLSON – A 32-year-old Great Falls man faces at least two forgery charges after allegedly trying to cash numerous stolen checks in Lake County. Levi Morin was arrested following a May 11 traffic stop near Finley Point when a police officer found 78 pieces of mail from 34 different people in Morin&rs...
POLSON – A Dixon man faces a stalking charge and three counts of violating privacy in communications after he allegedly sent more than 700 lewd and threatening emails to a woman over the course of 10 months. Charles Thies, 54, was arrested May 8 and is being held on $100,000 bond. He also face...
Dr. Doug Melzer usually works nights in the emergency room at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula. He spends most of his time dealing with the usual emergency room fare: heart attacks, pneumonia, broken hips. But about once a week he treats patients coming into the emergency room because they’re ...
POLSON – As a victim of child sexual abuse, Grace Manchala has a heart for child victims of sex trafficking. Manchala spoke about her passion to shed light on the problem before the Lake County Pachyderm Club on Friday, May 26. Growing up in India, Manchala suffered from abuse from a ...
POLSON – An 18-year-old was given a six-year deferred sentence on May 24 for causing the death of a three-year-old boy last Thanksgiving. Chasen Curley, who was originally charged with negligent homicide and pleaded guilty to an amended charge of criminal endangerment, was sentenced by Judge James A...
POLSON – An Arlee man convicted of stalking in 2014 faces a June 5 trial for another stalking charge against the same woman. Brandon Bagnell, 48, was sentenced to five years in the Department of Corrections with no time suspended on Nov. 6, 2014. According to a court document, Bagnell called t...
