Lake County District Court news for Aug. 5, 2010
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher handled the following cases on July 29.
Carlos Hernandez, 19, Pablo, changed his original plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty to felonies burglary and criminal mischief. A trial date will be set later.
According to court records, the charges stem from a May 8 early-morning incident when an SKC campus security guard noticed Hernandez leaving Joe's Jiffy Stop carrying three cases of beer. At that time, the store was not open for regular business hours. Hernandez stashed the beer behind a building 20 yards away and then returned to the store. The security guard then intercepted and detained Hernandez as he was leaving the store with a second armful of merchandise.
Deputies later met the manager of the store at the scene and observed that the front doors - large double-paned glass doors - had been smashed. A large rock was resting nest to the frame of the rear door, which had also been smashed. Damage to the doors exceeds $1,500.
Darla Eileen Billingsley AKA Darla Eileen Pacheco, 45, of Polson, changed the original play of not guilty and pleaded guilty to felony driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and criminal endangerment, a felony. Pacheco’s suspended sentence was revoked.
Sentencing is set for Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 at 9 a.m., following a pre-sentence investigation.
According to court records, the charges stem from a Nov. 5 incident when Lake County Dispatch received a report of an unresponsive female behind the wheel of a vehicle at the Bear Harbor condominiums in Polson.
A Polson Police Officer responded to the scene and found Pacheco slumped behind the wheel of a vehicle in a driveway that accessed several condos. The keys were in the vehicle and the officer could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage from outside of the vehicle. It appeared that the vehicle had hit a fence adjacent to the driveway, as part of the fence was still attached to the vehicle.
The officer knocked on the window and Pacheco eventually awoke and opened the door, provided registration, but not a driver's license to the officer. She denied hitting the fence and said she had not been drinking.
She would not follow the officer's instructions for the horizontal gaze nystagmus test and was showing signs of balance problems.
Court records indicated that Pacheco's driving privileges were revoked and she was placed under arrest.
During booking at the jail, Pacheco performance on the HGN test and the walk and turn and one-legged stand tests indicated that she was under the influence of alcohol. She refused a breath test. Court records indicated that she was currently on probation for DUI and has four prior DUI convictions.
James D. Adams, 51, Arlee, who previously admitted to felonies assault with a weapon and DUI, was sentenced to 13 months in the Department of Corrections for the DUI charge and five years for the other improper influence in official and political matters.
The latter sentence was suspended to run consecutive to the sentence imposed on the first count of driving under the influence.
According to court records, the DUI charge stems from a March 1 incident when a Montana Highway Patrol trooper responded to reports of a reckless motorcycle driver south of Ronan, who then crashed north of Ronan.
When the trooper arrived on scene, he noted that scrape marks leading to the motorcycle suggested that it had slid into its present position while traveling northbound on US Highway 93.
A Ronan officer reported that he'd activated his top lights in order to initiate a traffic stop and then observed the driver, identified as Adams, abruptly accelerate before steering to the right and then crashing.
The trooper also noted Adams was abrasive and argumentative with medical personnel, and at the hospital the trooper noted that his breath smelled of an alcoholic beverage, his eyes were bloodshot, his speech was slurred, and he seemed confused.
When asked if he'd been drinking, Adams said, "not much," and then added, "I suppose I'm eligible for driving under the influence."
He later admitted to buying a liter of whiskey earlier in the day and having six shots before driving the motorcycle.
The assault with a weapon charge stems from an April 4 incident when Adams allegedly threatened numerous people at a Lake County residence.
Judge C.B. McNeil handled the following cases July 28.
Wayne Lawrence Blickenstaff, 21, Polson, pleaded not guilty to the charge of criminal possession with intent to distribute, criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a misdemeanor, operating a motor vehicle without valid liability insurance and careless driving, a misdemeanor.
An omnibus hearing is set for Sept.1, 2010.
According to court records, the charges stem from an April 25 incident when Polson Police responded to a residence where a domestic assault reportedly occurred.
According to police, a person told them that his friend had several bruises on her face and neck and that she had said she sustained the injuries during a fight with her boyfriend.
When questioned, the woman told police that Blickenstaff went into a rage and began throwing and breaking things around the home before physically attacking her while she held a 5-month-old baby.
When the woman broke free from Blickenstaff, she said he grabbed a cordless home phone and threw it against the wall.
Grady Turner, 21, pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted burglary, a felony, and criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. Turner remains free on bond.
An omnibus hearing was set for Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, at 9 a.m.
According top Polson Police, on June 9, 2010, a woman contacted Lake County Dispatch to report a break-in at a marijuana growing operation run by her landlord.
The woman told police that she and her husband heard someone downstairs, where the marijuana was located. Outside, there was a two-door passenger car, dark. The car took headed north on 2nd Street West, while another male fled on foot eastbound in the alley.
After the landlord informed police he had installed security cameras, but that one of the cameras was missing, they gathered at the scene to go over the camera tapes. After reviewing tapes with police, police recognized two males, Grady Turner and Brent Lemler, as those in the film footage.
Police believe Lemler and Turner discarded the camera after they were scared off by a nearby resident.
