Lake County District Court news for April 8, 2015
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Judge James A. Manley dealt with the following cases April 1:
June McDonald, 40, Arlee, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years with none suspended for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fourth or subsequent offense, a felony; for another felony DUI, she was sentenced to DOC for 15 years with 10 suspended. The two sentences will run concurrently.
According to court documents, the first charge occurred in March 2014 in Arlee. McDonald ran the vehicle she was driving into a tree, and her blood alcohol concentration was .321, four times the legal limit. Then in May 2014, someone reported a female blacked out in her vehicle, and when an officer responded to the Clarice Paul area, McDonald was pulled over for driving erratically in the wrong lane of traffic. Her breath sample was .243.
The court recommends that McDonald be screened and considered for a treatment program.
Robert Stokes, 32, Elmo, was sentenced to DOC for five years with none suspended, and credited for 161 days already served, for criminal endangerment, a felony.
According to court documents, in May 2014 a Montana Highway Patrol officer tried to pull over the gray van Stokes was driving in Pablo, but Stokes refused and accelerated, leading MHP, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputies and Tribal officers on a 25-mile pursuit that reached speeds of 100 mph. The pursuit continued into Sanders County, where Stokes drove into a field, then drove toward a deputy who had gotten out of his car with his gun drawn. The officer fired at the vehicle in order to stop it. Stokes ran from his vehicle but was tased and arrested.
Gregg Webster, 49, 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 June 17 and a jury trial is set to begin Aug. 3.
According to court documents, on March 9 about 7:32 p.m., an MHP trooper made a traffic stop on Webster, who had been reportedly swerving all over the road and almost drove into a ditch. When the trooper asked Webster if he had been drinking, Webster laughed. Webster refused to provide a breath test and performed poorly on field sobriety tests. Results of a blood sample sent to the state crime lab are still pending. Webster’s driving record shows he has three or more prior DUI convictions.
Larry Grilliot, 30, Ronan, in a change of plea admitted committing an amended offense of criminal endangerment, a felony. An additional charge of felony assault on a peace officer was dismissed in the agreement. Sentencing is set for May 6.
According to court documents, on the night before Christmas 2014, two Flathead Tribal Police officers responded to a Ronan home where Grilliot was threatening suicide and threatening the reporting party. One officer was advised Grilliot was threatening to “kill the cops” when they arrived, and when officers arrived, Grilliot approached the officers with a knife in his hand and would not drop it when asked. Grilliot was tased and taken into custody. During a later interview with a Lake County deputy, Grilliot stated he intended to kill both police officers or die trying.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, March 26:
Reba Ann Hawkins, 27, St. Ignatius, in a change of plea admitted committing two felony counts of assault on a peace or judicial officer and two separate counts of felony theft. The court found Hawkins guilty, and sentencing is set for May 7. Three felony counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs were dismissed per the agreement.
According to court documents, the felony assault charges were for crashing into a patrol vehicle and injuring the officer after leading officers on a high-speed chase through Pablo and Ronan in September 2014.
She also stole $60,000-$80,000 of tools and Snap On tool chests stored in a rented storage unit. The tools had been reported stolen from an adjacent rental unit on Aug. 25, 2014. Agents of the Mission Mountain Drug Task Force discovered the alleged theft during an unrelated investigation in which they had a search warrant for another person’s cell phone. In a text message, an unidentified person stated that an inmate at Lake County Jail had a Snap On tool chest in a storage unit in Mission, and “the chick jacked it and put it there and she got in a high speed chase over the summer, so she is going back to prison.”
Jonathan Lewis Smith, 38, Pablo, in a change of plea admitted committing criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. The court found Smith guilty. Sentencing is set for May 7.
According to court documents, on Jan. 24 Smith was arrested on an outstanding warrant for possession of methamphetamine, and a plastic tube, commonly used to hold illegal narcotics, was found in Smith’s car with suspected methamphetamine in the tube.
Robert James Mathewson, Jr., pleaded not guilty to bail jumping and criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
An omnibus hearing is set for May 7 and a jury trial date is yet to be set. Bond remains at a total of $250,000 for three pending cases.
According to court documents, in July 2013 Mathewson was under arrest in the Salish Point swimming area for a tribal warrant. The officer knew Mathewson was involved in the sales and use of illegal drugs, a search warrant was obtained for Mathewson’s vehicle and officers found a pipe with methamphetamine.
Mathewson was also being held in a separate case after pleading guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and kidnapping, both from a June 2014 incident. When Mathewson did not appear for sentencing Feb. 19, he was charged with bail jumping.
Paula McDonald, 31, Polson, admitted violating conditions of probation and parole and her 2007 deferred sentence for criminal endangerment was revoked. She told courts her desire was to get back to her children the quickest way possible, which she felt was Montana Women’s Prison. McDonald was sentenced to MWP for five years with no parole restriction.
