Lake County District Court news for April 17, 2013
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Judge C.B. McNeil dealt with the following cases Wednesday, April 10:
Roseanna Fisher, 57, Ronan, in a change of plea, admitted to the amended offense of attempt (criminal possession of dangerous drugs), a felony. She was found guilty, and sentencing was set for Wednesday, May 15, at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, the charge stems from a June 2012 incident where Fisher allegedly fraudulently obtained four prescriptions for Lorazepam from different medical providers.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, April 11:
Jared Hendrickson, 22, Arlee, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for 20 years, all suspended, on each of four counts of assault with a weapon, all felonies. Hendrickson was also ordered to attend Treasure State Boot Camp and aftercare, after which he will be required to wear a SCRAM bracelet for 180 days.
According to court documents, charges stem from a May 2012 hit-and-run crash in Charlo involving a vehicle driven by Hendrickson and four pedestrians. Witnesses said the driver and two passengers had been involved in a fight outside Tiny’s Bar and then got into a flatbed pickup and drove east. After a short distance, the driver turned the truck around, began revving the engine, and accelerated toward Main Street. Just before Main Street, the pickup swerved to the left and drove through a group of pedestrians, hitting four of them. The most seriously injured victim suffered a compound fracture of the leg. The vehicle was located an hour later near Arlee.
Hendrickson said in an interview that he and a friend had drunk a 24-pack of beer throughout the evening, and around bar closing time, he was told that his friend was in a fight outside the bar. He went outside and found his girlfriend and his friend involved in fights. At first, he said he drove away and made a U-turn, stopped, and a male he didn’t know jumped in the truck and grabbed the wheel. He said his foot slipped off the clutch and he drove into the crowd, striking a woman. Hendrickson said he pushed the guy out and drove away, and he didn’t know if he had hit anyone else.
A breath test at 8:15 a.m. showed Hendrickson had a blood alcohol concentration of .043 percent. Investigators reconstructed movement of the pickup based on marks on the roadway, which indicated Hendrickson had swerved abruptly left while accelerating, consistent with witness statements. In a second interview with investigators, Hendrickson admitted that nobody had tried to get in his truck or grab the wheel, and he couldn’t explain why he swerved.
Jack Renninger, 44, Missoula, had his 2006 suspended sentence for theft, a felony, revoked and was sentenced to Montana State Prison for 10 years, all suspended.
According to court documents, Renninger violated his probation by changing his address without notifying his probation officer; failing to report to his probation officer as ordered; failing to register his address with the sexual and violent offenders registry; and failing to pay court-ordered restitution.
Keya Birdsbill, 35, Ronan, had sentencing deferred for five years for criminal endangerment, a felony, and was ordered to serve 180 days in the Lake County Jail.
According to court documents, charges stem from a January 2012 incident where Birdsbill got in a fight with her boyfriend at his house. She hit him with a lamp, frying pan and metal sculpture as he dragged her out of the house, causing multiple cuts and abrasions on his head, hand, face and torso. Once she was out of the house, her boyfriend locked the door. Birdsbill then broke a window and climbed back inside, got a knife from the kitchen and and went to her boyfriend’s bedroom. He approached her and she hit him with the knife. Then he retreated to the bathroom and called police.
Damien Bourdon, 21, Big Arm, in a change of plea, admitted to criminal possession with intent to distribute, a felony. He was found guilty, and sentencing was set for Thursday, May 16, at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, the charge stems from a November 2012 incident where, in a traffic stop, tribal officers noticed the smell of raw marijuana emanating from the vehicle, driven by Bourdon. In a search of the vehicle, officers found a small amount of marijuana in the console between the front seats and a backpack containing seven bags of marijuana and a scale. The total weight of the marijuana was 242.5 grams.
Katie Joerger, 27, Frenchtown, in a change of plea, admitted to threats and other improper influence in official and political matters, a felony, and to the amended offense of threats and other improper influence in official and political matters. She was found guilty, and sentencing was set for Thursday, May 16, at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, the charges stem from a December 2012 incident where Joerger crashed her car into a fence and was walking near the crash site when she was stopped by a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper. She smelled strongly of alcohol; her eyes were bloodshot and watery; and her speech was slurred and sometimes unintelligible. She refused to perform field sobriety tests and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
As the arresting officer was buckling Joerger’s seatbelt, she spat in his face and then bit him in the forearm. On the way to the jail, Joerger demanded to be set free and said “See what happens to your kids.” The officer asked Joerger if she was threatening his child, and in a string of profanity, she said she did threaten his children and said, “I’m gonna call your kids tomorrow; they’ll beg for daddy.”
At the Lake County Jail, another deputy assisted the arresting officer in escorting Joerger to the door of the jail. She “mule-kicked” the first officer in the shins. Joerger refused to provide a blood sample, so the arresting officer obtained a warrant for her blood. At the hospital, Joerger was belligerent and threatened staff, threatened to rape and kill the arresting officers children, threatened to kill the nurse’s children, refused treatment and removed monitoring equipment from her body. She said, “Act like your kids are going to be safe.” When the officer asked if she was threatening his children again, she said, “Yes I am; see what happens to your kids.”
Scott Harpine, 21, Polson, had sentencing deferred for three years for burglary, a felony, and was ordered to serve 20 days either in the Lake County Jail or house arrest within 90 days of sentencing. He received credit for six days served.
According to court documents, the charge stems from a November 2012 incident where Harpine allegedly used a bowling pin to break out the glass front door at the Polson Subway restaurant, where he was employed, and took a cash box and cash from the register. A security video showed a man wearing a mask and carrying a bowling pin enter the store and remove the cash box and register box, and store employees recognized the man’s clothing as Harpine’s. In a search of Harpine’s residence, police found two bowling pins, clothing consistent with that shown in the video, a metal cash box and assorted drugs and paraphernalia. During an interview with investigators, Harpine admitted using a bowling pin to break into Subway.
