Lake County District Court news for Sept. 14, 2011
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Judge C.B. McNeil dealt with the following cases Wednesday, Sept. 7:
Shain Steffens, 25, Missoula, in a change of plea, admitted committing two counts of negligent homicide, both felonies.
The court accepted the plea and found Steffens guilty. Sentencing is set for Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from an early morning April 2010 incident where Steffens called Lake County dispatch, stating he had been in the river all night, had a dislocated shoulder, and did not know where he was. He said his car was upside down in the river, two of his friends were inside, and he did not know whether they were alive.
After locating Steffens’ location using GPS tracking, search and rescue personnel located him east of Buffalo Bridge, and he was taken to Kalispell Regional Hospital. They also located the vehicle, upside down in the Flathead River, with two deceased men inside.
An investigation into the crash scene revealed that the SUV had been traveling south on a one-lane Jeep trail that ended just before a cliff. The vehicle failed to stop and went over the cliff, striking a rock on the river’s edge and flipping onto its top in the river.
In an interview with a Montana Highway Patrol trooper, Steffens said he had been driving and showing off when he took a turn too fast and lost control of the vehicle, and it went over the edge into the river. Steffens also said he had about eight beers prior to driving the SUV. Although no alcohol was found in Steffens’ blood sample, the crime lab did find THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) present in Steffens’ blood.
Douglas James Carnell, 28, St. Ignatius, was sentenced to Montana State Prison for 10 years. Carnell will receive credit for time served while in custody and is not eligible for parole until he completes Phase 1 and 2 of the sexual offender treatment program. Carnell is designated a level I sex offender.
According to court documents, Carnell had his 2007 suspended sentence for sexual assault, a felony, revoked on Aug. 31. Carnell violated terms of probation and parole by allegedly moving his residence without permission from his probation officer, fleeing from federal marshals and missing a meeting with his probation officer.
Dolly Evans, 34, Dixon, appeared for sentencing on two counts of criminal endangerment, both felonies. The court deferred both sentences for five years, to run concurrent.
According to court documents, charges stem from a November 2010 incident on Highway 212 near mile marker 14. Around 5:15 a.m., a man reported that there were two adults passed out in a vehicle parked in the middle of the road and two babies in the car; also, it was dark outside and snowing.
When an officer arrived, he found the car parked on the center line of the highway, in gear and still running. The driver, Evans, was passed out with her 2-month-old infant son in her lap. The officer noted the smell of alcohol and could not get a response from Evans. He put the car in gear and turned off the engine, and then wrapped the infant in a blanket and placed him in a warm vehicle.
Another officer arrived and tried to rouse a male passenger in the front seat with a 3-year-old girl in his lap. That child was also wrapped in a blanket and placed in a warm vehicle while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
The children were not dressed in warm winter clothes or a hat, and were not covered with a blanket. There were no child car seats in the car. Officers found a half-empty bottle of vodka on the front passenger’s side floor.
When Evans was finally roused, she insisted she was at her home in Dixon Agency. Evans refused to give a breath sample and scored six of six possible indicators of impairment, so she was transported to the tribal jail facilities for further DUI processing. According to the affidavit, Evans never inquired about what had happened to her children.
Michelle Nault, 24, Polson, appeared for sentencing on attempt, a felony. The court deferred sentence for three years; in addition, Nault was ordered to serve 30 days in the Lake County Jail. Nault’s jail time is satisfied due to her successful completion of inpatient treatment.
According to court documents, charges stem from a November 2010 incident where a nurse at Polson Health and Rehab Center entered the room of a resident and noticed Nault, an off-duty CNA, reaching into the room from the outside, balancing in the window sill on her abdomen and reaching into the resident’s shirt near the shoulder area where the resident was wearing a Fentanyl patch. Nault ran to her car when confronted. The nurse also indicated that the patches were usually worn on the resident’s arms, that the window screen was broken and laying on the ground, and that a piece of the resident’s wheelchair brake was placed in the window track, which prevented the window from locking.
Prior to this incident, according to court documents, there were other incidents where the residents' Fentanyl patches were missing.
Jane N. Whaling, 51, Polson, pleaded not guilty to assault on a peace officer, a felony. Whaling remains at liberty. An omnibus hearing is set for Wednesday, Dec. 7, with a jury trial set to begin Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. Both begin at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from an Aug. 17 incident where Lake County sheriff’s detectives visited Whaling’s house in search of her son. Whaling was told that her son was a fugitive and had just committed a felony offense. Whaling told detectives that her son had been home all day and could not have committed that offense. She told the detective he needed to get a warrant and started to walk back inside the house. The detective stopped Whaling and told her he needed her to remain outside, at which point she became combative and the detective arrested her for obstructing. As he struggled to handcuff her, she kicked one of the detectives in the stomach.
Jack Whaling, 19, Polson, pleaded not guilty to attempt (theft), a felony. Whaling remains at liberty. An omnibus hearing was set for Wednesday, Dec. 21, with a jury trial set to begin Monday, Feb. 20, 2012. Both begin at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from an Aug. 11 incident where a person called the Lake County sheriff’s office to report an extortion attempt. The caller provided an anonymous note that threatened to publish a video of the caller engaged in sexual activity unless the caller left $10,000 cash at a described location in Lake County. Along with the letter was a thumb drive containing a copy of the video referred to in the letter. The caller explained that the video had been stored on a video recorder that was stolen from his home during a burglary several years earlier. The caller did not know who the suspects might be.
A Lake County sheriff’s detective prepared a bag containing primarily fake bills covered by real U.S. currency, and on Aug. 17, officers set up surveillance and the caller dropped the bag at the described place. Four-and-a-half hours later, detectives observed two males arrive at the location and retrieve the bag. When a detective identified himself, the males ran from the scene. Officers apprehended one of the males, who identified the other male as Whaling and told the detectives that Whaling had probably run back to his parents’ house.
Dale Tammen, 48, Missoula, had his 2007 suspended sentence for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a felony, revoked. He was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years. The court recommended he be screened for appropriate placement. An additional condition was added to his probation, that he shall not obtain a medical marijuana card, and if he has one, he will surrender it to his probation officer for the duration of his supervision.
According to court documents, Tammen violated his probation and parole by allegedly refusing to make monthly court-ordered fine payments and supervision fees and allegedly consuming alcohol. Tammen did admit to providing a breath sample that showed a .067 blood alcohol content.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, Sept. 8.
Randy Santos, 36, Arlee, in a change of plea, admitted committing assault with a weapon, a felony. The court accepted the plea and found Santos guilty. Sentencing is set for Thursday, Oct. 20, at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from an April 20 incident where a tribal officer responded to a report of an assault with a baseball bat near Arlee. The officer observed the victim sitting in a broken chair with a bloody towel around his hand and a puddle of blood on the floor. The victim had a cut on his right hand and bruising on his arms. The victim told the officers that a woman’s brother, later identified as Santos, had beaten him up for raping Santos’ sister, but the victim told and then Santos went and beat the victim with the baseball bat.
Police took Santos to the victim’s house, where the victim visually identified Santos as the person who struck him with the baseball bat. The victim also identified the bat.
Bryan Gregory Dupuis, 25, Polson, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. An omnibus hearing was set for Thursday, Nov. 3, and a jury trial is set to begin Dec. 12. Both begin at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from a July 1 incident where a Tribal Officer noticed a Ziploc baggie hanging out of Dupuis’ sweatshirt pocket at the Arlee Powwow Grounds. The officer removed from Dupuis’ person a bag of marijuana, a marijuana pipe and a bag containing what he believed, based on his experience and training, to be hashish and believed it to weigh more than 1 gram.
Kerry Busby, 21, Poulsbo, Wash., pleaded not guilty to assault on a minor, a felony. An omnibus hearing was set for Thursday, Nov. 10, and a jury trial is set to begin Jan. 9, 2012. Both begin at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from several incidents in July where Busby allegedly spanked a child several times with a spoon and a spatula on the buttocks with excessive force, causing bruising.
