Lake County District Court news for Nov. 21, 2012
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Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, Nov. 15:
Katherine Price, 40, Polson, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for 13 months for the amended offense of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a felony.
According to court documents, charges stem from a June 1 incident where a police officer stopped a vehicle driven by Price on U.S. Highway 93. Price smelled of alcohol and her eyes were red and glossy. Price performed poorly on several field sobriety tests and refused to give a breath sample. A warrant was obtained for her blood and a blood sample sent to the crime lab for analysis. Price’s driving record showed she had at least three prior DUI convictions.
Bruce Bierman, 54, Helena, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years, two suspended, for the amended offense of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a felony.
According to court documents, the charge stems from an Aug. 11 incident where Bierman was driving a vehicle across the Armed Forces Memorial Bridge in Polson around 2:42 p.m. The vehicle nearly collided with the guardrail and crossed the center line on the bridge several times. A Polson Police officer stopped Bierman and found he had an open can of Schlitz High Gravity malt liquor and smelled strongly of alcohol. After Bierman performed poorly on a field sobriety test, he was taken to the Lake County Jail, where a breath sample showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of .31 percent. Records indicate Bierman has at least three previous DUI convictions, including one prior felony DUI, for which he was placed in an inpatient alcohol treatment program.
Seth Harpst, 29, Polson, in a change of plea, admitted to the amended offense of theft, a felony. He was found guilty, and sentencing was set for Thursday, Jan. 31, at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, Harpst allegedly stole several items from a man who had rented Harpst a room in his house, including a generator, coins, silver, tools, DVDs and headphones, and pawned the items, which had a total value of more than $1,500. The landlord reported to the sheriff’s office that he had located his stolen generator at Depoe Junction in Polson, and a review of other pawn tickets under Harpst’s name showed he had pawned several silver coins and tools that were also stolen from his landlord. In an interview, Harpst admitted stealing the generator and pawning it and taking other items that were not his from his landlord’s home.
Janice Ness, 48, Seattle, Wash., in a change of plea, admitted to the amended offense of criminal possession with intent to distribute, a felony. She was found guilty, and sentencing was set for Thursday, Dec. 20, at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from a Nov. 8 incident where Ness was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for a traffic stop. Ness allegedly had with her four separate bags containing a total of 31 grams of methamphetamine, six half-gram bindles (small paper packages) of methamphetamine, a digital scale, a box of sandwich baggies and a list of names and phone numbers. While officers searched the vehicle, Ness allegedly destroyed her cell phone so it could not be used as evidence.
Tye Fortuna, 40, Kalispell, had his 2004 suspended sentences for two counts of theft, both felonies, revoked and was sentenced to Montana State Prison for 9 1/2 years to run consecutive to any federal charges that may be filed.
According to court documents, Fortuna, a long-time probation violator, was arrested in Idaho (he did not have permission to travel there) on Oct. 5 and cited for two misdemeanors: giving false information to an officer and obstructing and delaying an officer. Fortuna was with his girlfriend when he was arrested, and she had saboxin pills and a “snort tube” for ingesting heroin in her possession. Fortuna also changed his residence in September without notifying his probation officer, among numerous other violations. He also said he was traveling to Seattle, Wash., numerous times to visit his wife and children but instead went to Las Vegas, Nev., San Diego, Calif., and Yellowstone National Park with his girlfriend.
