Lake County District Court news for June 26, 2013
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Judge C.B. McNeil dealt with the following cases Wednesday, June 19:
John Steele, 21, Pablo, admitted violating terms of his probation and parole and the court revoked his suspended sentence for criminal possession of dangerous drugs. Steele was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years. The court recommended placement in an in-patient chemical dependency treatment program. Steele will receive credit for time served both in custody and a previous program.
According to court documents, charges stem from an August 2010 incident where Steele was arrested on a warrant and officers found three Lortab pills and a pill crusher in Steele’s pocket. Steele did not have a prescription for the drugs.
Jamie Finley, 34, Hot Springs, pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, a felony. An omnibus hearing was set for Wednesday, July 17 and a jury trial set to begin Monday, Sept. 16. In addition, the court agreed to modify “no contact” with the victim, in the conditions of bail, to say “no unwanted contact.”
According to court documents, charges stem from a May 18 incident where Finley allegedly took a two-year-old child away from the child’s mother and went to Hot Springs. The alleged incident occurred after Finley argued about the mother’s decision to move to Butte with the child.
Antoine Carman, 25, Ronan, pleaded not guilty to theft, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Wednesday, Sept. 11 with a jury trial set to begin on Monday, Nov. 18.
According to court documents, charges stem from a March 26 incident where a Charlo woman reported several items were missing from her home after she returned from a trip. Some of the items were located at a pawn shop and traced back to Carman.
Darrel William Kehoe, 65, Ronan, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years, all suspended. Kehoe must participate in the SCRAM program for one year.
According to court documents, charges stem from a January 5 incident where Kehoe was arrested for driving under the influence. Kehoe had six previous DUI convictions, including one prior felony.
Brian Johnston, 38, Polson, was sentenced to Montana State Prison for 100 years each for the following offenses: solicitation, sexual abuse of children, and two counts of incest, all felonies. In addition, Johnston will not be eligible for parole for the first 25 years. The two counts of incest will run consecutively for a total of 200 years, with limitation for parole for 50 years. Johnston is designated a Level III offender and also high risk to re-offend.
Johnston was tried by a jury in December 2012 and found guilty of the above offenses. He was then placed in Lake County Jail with $1 million bond until Wednesday’s sentencing.
Johnston will not be eligible for parole until he is 88 years old.
According to court documents, charges date back to June 2011 when a 12-year-old female child reported that she was sexually abused by her father, followed by interviews with the 10-year-old sister who also reported being sexually abused by her father. At that time, Johnston was a registered sex offender. These offenses began about one year after he had been released from prison.
