Courts

Adam Ethan Sherman, 20, of Ronan, was committed in Polson District Court on July 15 to the Montana Department of Corrections for four years with none of that time suspended for possessing methamphetamine.  The sentence was part of a plea agreement that resolved a total of four cases against Sherman. The first case was a drug possession charge, for which Sherman received the four-year commitment to the DOC. He also had the imposition of sentencing deferred for two years involving three other cases. On the drug charge, Sherman was a passenger in a vehicle that was subject to a traffic stop on March 23, 2019. He was found to be in possession of a backpack containing plastic baggies,...

News from ACLU Montana   MONTANA – The ACLU of Montana and community members shared with Members of the Law and Justice Interim Committee the challenges faced by individuals returning to their communities after being incarcerated or otherwise involved with Montana’s criminal legal system...

A man who was found guilty of stealing a dump truck from the Woods Bay area was committed to the Montana Department of Corrections for four years with all that time suspended.  Judge James Manley handed down the sentence in Polson on July 8. Manley gave Michael Austin Swindler, 30, credit for sixty-s...

A Lake County man was committed in Polson District Court on June 25 to the Montana Department of Corrections for a total of eighteen years with fourteen years suspended after reaching a plea agreement that cut eighteen crimes down to nine. Eugene Thomas Germain, 26, was initially facing nine counts of fel...

A Ronan man was committed in Polson District Court on June 18 to the Montana Department of Corrections for a total of 15 years with half that time suspended for a drunk driving crash that killed his passenger. Brayden A’twen Cutfinger, 21, pleaded guilty to felony charges of negligent homicide and c...

Labenza Dawn Charlo, 20, of Pablo entered a plea of not guilty in District Court at Polson on June 11 to felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs.  According to court records, on Jan. 28, Polson police assisted probation officers with a hotel room search in Polson, which is where Charlo was stay...

Matthew Phillip Parker, 31, of St. Ignatius entered a guilty plea in Polson District Court on June 11 to felony assault with a weapon.  The plea came as part of an agreement that will dismiss, at sentencing, felony charges of strangulation of a partner or family member, sexual intercourse without con...

Alan Lewis Kibler, 34, of Polson entered a plea of not guilty in Polson District Court on June 10 to two counts of partner or family member assault, assault with a weapon and kidnapping, all felonies. According to court records, on May 26, a social worker with child protective services reported to the Lak...

A Polson man is accused of beating his girlfriend over a period of several days, causing bruising “all over her body,” according to charging documents.  Pernell Albert Dionne Jr., 35, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson on June 10 to five counts of felony partner or...

Saylah Jessica McCrea, 28, of Ronan pleaded guilty at District Court in Polson on June 11 to felony criminal possession dangerous drugs.  After midnight on July 28, 2018, a Ronan Police Officer was on patrol when he noticed a car parked in the parking lot of a local church, according to records. In t...