Lake County District Court news for April 15, 2015
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Judge James A. Manley dealt with the following cases Wednesday, April 8:
Trent Johnathan Lell, 33, Polson, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fourth or subsequent offense, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for July 15; a jury trial is set to begin Sept. 1. Lell denied allegations that he had violated terms of probation and parole from three previous convictions, and a hearing on merits is set for April 22 to discuss revoking his suspended sentences.
According to court documents, on Jan. 14 a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper responded to the scene of a one-vehicle crash on Round Butte Road in Ronan. Before the trooper arrived, fire and ambulance crews informed him the driver, Lell, had been drinking. It appeared Lell had been driving eastbound, left the road and went down an embankment on the right side, crashed through a barbed-wire fence and continued another 15-20 feet before stopping; he then backed into the fence again.
Lell was so unresponsive in the driver’s seat that he was unable to talk, but appeared uninjured. The trooper had to assist Lell up the embankment, and Lell had trouble even walking and maintaining his balance. He smelled of alcohol and had droopy eyes.
Lell was taken to jail but refused sobriety tests and refused to give a breath sample. A blood sample was taken and sent to the state crime lab. Results are pending.
Lell’s driving record showed he was driving on a suspended license and had six prior DUI convictions.
Craig Allen McCrea, 29, Ronan, pleaded not guilty to burglary, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for July 15; a jury trial is set to begin Sept. 1.
According to court documents, on Jan. 20 a woman in the Stanger Loop area of Pablo called to report her 50-inch TV and $500 were stolen from her home, and named McCrea and a female as suspects, because she saw them leave her home as she was arriving. A tribal officer went to the home of the female suspect and found McCrea hiding in the shower, and found the stolen TV in a child’s bedroom. The female suspect said the ordeal happened because the victim owed her money.
Keith Michael Conway, 34, Arlee, pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for June 17; a jury trial is set to begin Aug. 3.
According to court documents, a woman called a detective to say she was raped Aug. 8, 2014. She had been in an Arlee bar with her sister. They began talking to a man and woman she recognized as living in the Arlee area, but she did not know their names or where they lived. They bought some beer and then she went driving around with the man and woman, ending up at their home. The victim was so intoxicated she ended up sleeping on the couch in the couple’s living room.
She awoke with the man on top of her. She screamed but could not get him to stop raping her. Evidence that substantiated the victim’s story was later found at the home, although Conway denied having any sexual contact with the victim. Subsequent DNA testing showed the presence of Conway’s semen on the victim’s clothing.
Jesse James Eaglespeaker, 44, Charlo, pleaded not guilty to theft, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for July 15; a jury trial is set to begin Sept. 1.
According to court documents, on May 8, 2014, a man who lives in Pablo called to report the theft of four rifles. The victim said there was no forced entry, and several other rifles had been moved around but not taken. Six months later, the victim said he bought his rifles back from a person who had purchased them from Eaglespeaker. The seller claimed he did not know the rifles had been stolen. Eaglespeaker, who was on probation at the time, said he had knowingly purchased stolen rifles from another man, whom the victim had named as a possible suspect.
Cole S. Snyder, 18, Ronan, pleaded not guilty to sexual abuse of children, a felony, and criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. The court agreed Snyder should be kept on house arrest except to attend school and work a job, and he needs to graduate. An omnibus hearing is set for July 15; a jury trial is set to begin Sept. 1.
According to court documents, Snyder was interviewed by a Lake County Deputy on Feb. 15, a day after he was taken off the school bus in handcuffs after returning from the state wrestling tournament. Hours earlier, he had taken the state title in his weight division.
During the interview, Snyder told the deputy that he had asked a friend for a pain reliever weeks earlier, and the friend said they only had Lortab, a prescription drug. Snyder took the drug, and later another high school student offered to sell Snyder some Lortab pills that came from a legitimate prescription. Snyder allegedly began buying the pills and selling to other students for about three weeks, until he was arrested. During the course of interrogation Snyder also admitted to requesting nude photos from a teenaged girl via Snapchat, a cell phone application that temporarily stores photos before they are deleted. The girl provided Snyder with the photos.
Victor Roy Manuel, 37, Ronan, pleaded not guilty to partner or family member assault, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for July 15; a jury trial is set to begin Sept. 1.
According to court documents, Manuel allegedly had been drinking, and got in a fight with his common law wife. As the fight escalated, Manuel allegedly was on top of her, holding her hair and slapping her when the victim’s son came out and pulled Manuel off his mother. Manuel then allegedly punched the son in the eye. Manuel has two prior PFMA assault convictions in tribal court.
Krystal Marie Davis, 27, Polson, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for July 15; a jury trial is set to begin Sept. 1.
According to court documents, on March 15 Davis gave an MHP trooper permission to search her vehicle, and he found a baggie of methamphetamine inside the driver’s door pocket and another baggie with methamphetamine residue inside Davis’ purse.
Gerald Weaselhead, 54, St. Ignatius, pleaded not guilty to assault with a weapon. An omnibus hearing is set for July 15; a jury trial is set to begin Sept. 1.
According to court documents, on March 10 while at the St. Ignatius City Park with two other people, Weaselhead allegedly pointed a pistol at another man’s temple and threatened to shoot him.
Ronald Quaring, 50, Pablo, admitted violating terms of probation and parole and had his suspended sentence for felony DUI revoked. Quaring was committed to the Department of Corrections for three years. The court recommended Quaring be considered for a treatment program.
According to court documents, the DUI charge stems from a May 3, 2013 incident where Quaring was pulled over on his motorcycle for speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol in Pablo.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, April 9:
Garrett Edward Vaska, 38, Polson, was sentenced to DOC for 13 months for felony DUI; if he successfully completes residential alcohol treatment he may spend the remainder of his sentence on probation. Vaska was also sentenced to DOC for five years, all suspended, to run consecutively with the 13 months. Per his plea agreement, another charge of felony DUI was dismissed.
According to court documents, Vaska was stopped while driving a vehicle Feb. 4, but refused field sobriety tests. He was arrested and at tribal jail Vaska provided a breath sample indicating his blood alcohol concentration was .094.
Cassandra Steele, aka Cassandra McClure, 54, Ronan, pleaded not guilty to criminal distribution of dangerous drugs. An omnibus hearing is set for July 9; a jury trial is set to begin Aug. 24.
According to court documents, on Feb. 13, 2014, a confidential informant went to Steele’s home and purchased $50 of methamphetamine. The purchase was monitored by the Mission Mountain Drug Task Force.
Frank Jesus Zepeda, 70, St. Ignatius, pleaded not guilty to burglary, a felony, and theft, a misdemeanor. An omnibus hearing is set for July 9; a jury trial is set to begin Aug. 24.
According to court documents, Zepeda was allegedly involved in stealing a wood stove from a Ronan residence on or around Jan. 24. Neighbors witnessed two men load the stove into a truck and leave.
Phillip Cody Haynes, 25, Arlee, pleaded not guilty to arson, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for July 9; a jury trial is set to begin Aug. 24.
According to court documents, a tip from a fellow firefighter began an investigation in which Haynes told a Lake County Sheriff’s detective that he had intentionally set seven different forest fires. Fires in 2014 included the V1110 fire set July 27; the South Finley fire, July 28; the Saddle Mountain fire, Aug. 18 and the Hammer fire, Aug. 25. Additional fires identified through the interview included the Firestone fire, set on Sept. 2, 2012, and the Arlee Pines (A-Hill) fire set July 17, 2013. Although Haynes admitted to one additional fire, law enforcement could not positively identify the fire.
Mickey Kent Wolf, 29, Polson, pleaded not guilty to burglary, a felony, and theft, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for May 7; a jury trial is set to begin June 22.
According to court documents, at about 3 a.m. on Jan. 18 Wolf allegedly entered DynoMart and Pizza Café in Ronan wearing gloves, and disabled the alarm by entering a proper pass code. He allegedly stole a cash deposit safe, the day’s bank deposit, a DVR security system storage device, cigarettes, and possibly other items with a total value of more than $1,500. A portion of the DVR security system was still functional and showed two suspects wearing gloves and dark clothing; one male had a hood over his head and a shirt pulled over his face, the other was wearing a ski mask. The owner recognized one of the suspects, Kelly Dupuis, who was arrested and interviewed in jail. Dupuis said the safe was opened with a corded drill. Law enforcement later found the corded drill, the cash deposit safe and other items at Wolf’s home. Wolf was located and arrested on a warrant March 24.
Kelly Gordon Dupuis, 25, Pablo pleaded not guilty to felony burglary, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Aug. 24; a jury trial is set to begin July 9. According to court records, Dupuis was the second suspect in the Jan. 18 burglary of DynoMart, above.
Derick Leon Tungwenuk, 39, Bigfork, pleaded not guilty to DUI, fourth or subsequent offense, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Aug. 24; a jury trial is set to begin July 9.
According to court documents, at about 1 a.m. March 3 a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to single vehicle crash on Highway 35. Tungwenuk was walking down the highway, and said he had just been in a crash. He said he left a Polson casino and he admitted drinking alcohol. Tungwenuk refused field sobriety tests and refused to provide a breath sample. A blood draw was taken and sent to the state crime lab; results are pending. Tungwenuk has three prior DUI convictions.
Mary Edwards, 25, Arlee, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Aug. 24; a jury trial is set to begin July 9.
According to court documents, on Feb. 14 a Montana Highway Patrol trooper made a traffic stop on Edwards. She admitted using methamphetamine and consented to allow the trooper to search her vehicle. The trooper found marijuana, hydrocodone, a meth pipe with residue, marijuana pipes and a small scale. She admitted everything was hers except the pipe.
Crystal Dawn Hunt, 28, St. Ignatius, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for June 22; a jury trial is set to begin May 7.
According to court documents, Hunt was arrested March 19 on an outstanding warrant. The MHP trooper found, in her room, methamphetamine and meth paraphernalia, including a loaded syringe prepared for injection.
Edward Ward Stasso, 50, Polson, pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for June 22; a jury trial is set to begin May 7.
According to court documents, on March 26 a woman came to the courthouse to report an assault. Dispatch said they had a hard time understanding her because her mouth was bleeding and her face was swollen. A Polson Police officer responded and observed that the left side of the victim’s face so swollen she could not see out of her left eye; there was fresh blood on her lips, and the right side of her face was also swollen. She was taken to emergency room, where she said her left side was painful and her ribs hurt where Stasso hit her. The fight stemmed from jealousy, she said, and she told the officer that Stasso had kneed her in the groin several times until she bled, and had put his elbow in the middle of her throat to choke her.
Corey Mike Kelly, 25, Pablo, in a change of plea admitted committing criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. The court found Kelly guilty. A condition of bond is that Kelly gets a chemical dependency evaluation. Sentencing is set for May 21.
According to court documents, on March 5 Kelly was arrested on outstanding warrants, and the arresting officer found a small baggie with two large crystalline pieces of meth.
