Lake County District Court news for May 2, 2011
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Judge C.B. McNeil dealt with the following case Wednesday, Feb. 23:
Gregory S. Gonstad, 27, Clinton, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for 13 months and an additional three years suspended for committing the amended offense of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fourth or subsequent offense, a felony.
According to court records, the charge stems from a Feb. 6, 2010 incident when Lake County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a one-vehicle rollover crash on Skyline Drive in Polson. The deputy found the vehicle in the ditch and the driver, Gonstad, was trapped inside. Despite being told to remain in the vehicle until medical help arrived, Gonstad got out and deputies observed that he was unsteady on his feet, his eyes were bloodshot and glassy and he smelled of alcohol.
Gonstad told officers he had been drinking “a lot,” and said “I know I shouldn’t have done that.” When officers asked what he was referring to, he said, “driving when I was drunk.”
He admitted to driving from Clinton and that he’d been drinking for the past three days. He refused all sobriety testing or to provide a breath sample. A driving history check showed that Gonstad had four prior DUI convictions.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, Feb. 24:
Jeremiah Bird, 25, Ronan, pleaded not guilty to assault on a peace officer or judicial officer, a felony. Additionally, the court honored a request to release Bird from house arrest provided he maintains counseling and all appointments. An omnibus hearing is set for Thursday, April 28 at 9 a.m. with a jury trial commencing on Monday, June 13 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from a Jan. 22 incident where a woman called the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to report that Bird had cut his wrists. Bird fled before the deputies arrived, but returned after the deputies left. When Bird returned, the woman called the officers and they came back to find Bird outside holding a metal fencepost. The officers advised Bird to drop the post, but Bird refused and began advancing toward the officers while swinging the post. The officers drew their firearms and warned Bird to stop. Bird turned and walked toward a tribal officer down the hill, and that officer told Bird to stop or the officer would deploy his taser. Bird did not stop; the officer deployed the taser but it misfired, and Bird kept advancing. The tribal officer then drew his pistol, and Bird took off running down the road. He was eventually arrested without further incident.
Tara Lynn Littlelight, 33, St. Ignatius, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Thursday, March 31 at 9 a.m. with a jury trial commencing on Monday, May 9 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from a Feb. 5 incident where a St. Ignatius police officer responded to a vehicle in the ditch off St. Mary’s Road. Upon arrival, he saw the driver, Littlelight, sitting at the wheel of a green van that was high-centered and stuck in the ditch. Littlelight smelled of alcohol, according to the officer, and she told him her cousin had driven the vehicle into the ditch. A Lake County dispatcher said Littlelight’s mother had called 911 just minutes earlier to report the van was stolen and that her daughter was intoxicated. When the mother arrived at the scene, she told officers she had observed Littlelight intoxicated and that Littlelight did not have permission to take the van.
Littlelight refused to provide a breath sample at the scene.
When a state trooper arrived, he informed the officers that this DUI was Littlelight’s fourth offense, so she was transported to the Lake County Detention Center for processing. She was not successful in completing sobriety tests and refused to provide a breath sample while at the detention center, but she did admit to having consumed four shots of Fireball Whiskey.
