Lake County District Court news for Sept. 23, 2015
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Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases on Sept. 10:
Kenneth Lozeau, Jr., 21, Ronan, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony.
The court set an omnibus hearing for Oct. 22, a status conference on Oct. 29 with a jury trial commencing Dec. 7.
According to court documents, on June 9, 2014, Lozeau was allegedly reported to law enforcement as attempting to commit suicide by jumping in front of cars. Court documents state Lozeau was highly intoxicated and fighting with law enforcement officers. He was arrested for Minor in Possession. At Tribal Jail, a detention office allegedly located a pill, identified by the State Crime Lab as hydrocodone, in Lozeau’s pants pocket.
Alan James Prindel, 35, Pablo, pleaded not guilty to burglary, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Oct. 22, a status conference for Dec. 3 and a jury trial for Jan. 11, 2016.
According to court records, Prindel entered Pablo Family Foods in Pablo. While he was in the store, he took deli items and chocolate bars allegedly eating the deli items and hiding the chocolate bars in his pocket. Prindel was with two other people, who paid for their items.
Prindel walked through the checkout without paying for the items he had consumed or the chocolate bars he had hidden on his person.
The storeowner saw what was happening on the store’s security camera and alerted the meat cutter. The meat cutter stopped Prindel and asked him to pay for the items. Prindel then allegedly hit the man in the ear. He was then detained until law enforcement arrived.
Mickey Kent Wolf, 29, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. In another case, Wolf faces a petition to revoke on a burglary offense, a felony. Both issues will be addressed at the Nov. 9 omnibus hearing.
A status conference is set for Dec. 17 with a jury trail commencing Feb. 8, 2016.
An officer pulled Wolf over on July 24 for failing to have the license plate on his vehicle illuminated. A passenger in the vehicle had an active warrant and was taken into custody.
Wolf allegedly had at least three prior arrests for dangerous drug charges since September 2014. He refused to let the officer search his vehicle so the K-9 officer and his dog searched around outside the vehicle. The dog alerted on the passenger side of the vehicle so the officer seized the vehicle, applied for and was granted a search warrant. He found a backpack behind the driver’s seat that contained a white powdery substance. In the center console were two pink pills identified as containing amphetamine and dexroamphetamine, a schedule II dangerous drug.
Judge James A. Manley dealt with the following cases on Sept. 16:
Duran Thomas Sherwood, 35, St. Ignatius, pleaded not guilty to forgery, a felony.
An omnibus hearing was set for Nov. 25; a status conference on Dec. 30; with a jury trial commencing on Feb. 16, 2016.
According to court records, Sherwood cashed two checks at the Pheasant Lounge in Ronan on Dec. 23, 2014. After Sherwood returned a third time, the owner detained him because he was suspicious of his activity and told Sherwood he had to stay until a law enforcement officer arrived.
Sherwood allegedly told the officer a friend had found five checks on the ground by the Second Chance Saloon and given him two checks that were already filled out and signed, in the amount of $60 and $64.
In January the victim delivered to Flathead Tribal Police a statement and affidavits for seven checks and two ACH debits, which she had not written to or authorized anyone else to use.
An officer obtained video from Mission Cenex of Sherwood getting out of a vehicle, going into the business and using one of the victim’s checks and returning to the vehicle.
Kristin Michelle Giles, 37, Ronan, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony.
According to court records on June 3, officers applied for a search warrant and conducted a search of Giles’ and her roommate’s residence. In the living room, on a coffee table, officers found and seized two pipes wrapped in a bandana as well as other drug paraphernalia and a scale.
When interviewed by officers, Giles and her roommate allegedly admitted purchasing various amounts of methamphetamine from another person. The two pipes were sent to the Montana State Crime Lab, and both tested positive for methamphetamine.
An omnibus hearing was set for Nov. 25; a status conference on Dec. 30; with a jury trial commencing Feb. 16, 2016.
Ameen Yusuf Omar-El, Sr., 51, Ronan, pleaded not guilty to assault with a weapon, a felony.
According to court records, a police officer responding to the report of a stabbing spoke to Omar-El, Sr., who allegedly admitted he stabbed another man with a knife during an argument. The knife was recovered from Omar-El, Sr.
Court records indicate Omar-El, Sr., has been released on his own recognizance.
An omnibus hearing is set for Oct. 21; a status conference for Dec. 9; with a jury trial commencing Jan. 19, 2016.
Aaron Daniel Morgan had his jury trial set for Dec. 14 with a status conference on Nov. 18. The charge is criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony.
On Feb. 15, 2014, Morgan was stopped while driving by an officer because his headlight was not working, according to court records. He allegedly couldn’t produce identification and the vehicle was emanating the odor of an alcoholic beverage. When the officer had Morgan exit his vehicle for a DUI investigation and patted him down, the officer located a glass pipe in Morgan’s pocket. The pipe allegedly contained burned marijuana residue.
The officer called the K-9 officer who had his dog sniff the exterior of Morgan’s vehicle. Court records indicate the dog indicated there were illegal drugs in the car. Morgan refused to consent to a search of his vehicle so the vehicle was impounded and towed to a secure facility while police officers obtained a search warrant.
After receiving the search warrant, an officer searched Morgan’s vehicle and located a methamphetamine pipe under the driver’s seat and a rifle wrapped in a blanket. The pipe contained a large amount of white residue that, when tested by the Montana State Crime Lab, was determined to be methamphetamine.
Tarakay L. Edner, 31, Polson, had her jury trial set for Dec. 14 with a status conference on Nov. 18. Edner is charged with assault on a police officer, a felony.
According to court documents, an officer responded to a call of a man and a woman fighting at the intersection of Division Street and Old Highway 93 on May 15. A hatchet was allegedly involved. When the officer arrived at the scene, neighbors directed him to a house and told him the people who lived there had a hatchet and to look at the door. The officer inspected the door, which had several hatchet marks on it and appeared to have been beaten by a hatchet. The officer could hear sounds of wrestling on the other side of the door, and when he opened the door, Edner was walking toward him holding a hatchet. The officer had his service weapon drawn and ordered Edner to drop the hatchet several times, but she continued toward him. The officer warned her again and told her he would use his taser if she didn’t drop the hatchet. Edner continued and the officer fired his taser.
Sonny Morigeau, 38, Ronan, had his sentence for criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony, revoked. The Court found that Morigeau had violated the conditions of parole.
Sentencing was set for Sept. 23.
According to court records, Morigeau was arrested on unrelated charges and taken to the Flathead Tribal Jail. A detention officer conducted an inventory search of Morigeau’s clothes and allegedly located several small baggies of the type used to package methamphetamine. The Montana State Crime Lab confirmed the baggies contained methamphetamine.
Judge Manley dealt with the following cases on Sept. 9:
James Wilson Allen, 39, had his case set for a jury trial on Dec. 14. The charge is assault with a weapon, a felony.
According to court records, on Jan. 20 in St. Ignatius, an off-duty Tribal Law and Order officer noticed Allen and advised him there was a warrant out for his arrest. Allen then allegedly reached into his waistband and pulled out a Ruger .22 pistol and pointed it at the officer, who knew what it was because he had one just like it. The officer dove to the ground and heard a “pop” as he moved to a more protected position behind his vehicle. The officer called for backup and advised the other officers what way Allen had fled.
One of the backup officers located boot prints nearby and was able to track Allen who had allegedly crisscrossed Mission Creek several times and headed to a pair of houses on St. Mary’s Lake Road. Officers entered one of the residences and found Allen hiding in a back bedroom with a Ruger .22 pistol in his hand. The defendant resisted arrest and tried to grab another officer’s gun.
When a detective interviewed Allen, he recalled being been approached by a man but denied firing a gun at him and blamed the off-duty officer several times. The detective also interviewed a witness to the shooting who confirmed that Allen shot a gun at the off-duty officer.
