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Auld enters plea agreement on second car theft

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Peter James Auld, 31, of Elmo entered a plea agreement on Dec. 12 before District Judge James Manley that calls for him to be committed to the State Department of Corrections for six years with four years suspended for attempted robbery. 

According to court records, a Polson woman looked out her home window the morning of June 17 and saw a man getting into her vehicle. The woman signaled to the man, but he ignored her. She then went outside equipped with a camera in an attempt to get a picture of the man entering her vehicle. Auld “tried to hide his face with a drink then began chasing after the woman,” according to the report. 

The woman’s husband told responding Polson Police Officer Keith Deetz that the man was “beating up” his wife, stealing items from his vehicle, throwing stuff at his wife and slugging her. The woman told the officer that the man was hitting her with a rope that had a knot tied to the end of it. The officer reported the woman had marks on her face consistent with her story. 

Officer Deetz located a man a short distance away that fit the description provided by the alleged victim and witness. When Deetz asked the man to stop walking, he took off on foot. The officer was able to apprehend the man. When questioned, the man said he was drunk and didn’t remember anything.

This is not Auld’s first appearance in front of Judge Manley. Auld was sentenced on July 5, 2017, to the Lake County Jail for six months and all but three days served were suspended for stealing a car in September 2016. In that matter, Auld was convicted of stealing a woman’s 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The car was returned to the owner with damages to which Auld was held responsible for paying restitution in the amount of $1,120.

In the most recent matter, Auld will have to pay $100 for the cost of prosecution, $800 for his public defender and any restitution determined by Probation and Parole. The plea agreement recommends that Auld be screened for drug and alcohol treatment followed by prerelease. Judge Manley set sentencing for January 16 and allowed Auld to remain at liberty until then.

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