Lake County District Court news for July 18, 2012
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Judge C.B. McNeil dealt with the following case Wednesday, July 11:
Michael Westmark, 63, Bigfork, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for 13 months followed by five years suspended for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a felony. According to court documents, charges stem from a December 2011 incident where a Montana Highway Patrol trooper responded to a one-vehicle crash on Highway 35. Investigation showed that the vehicle had apparently slowly veered off the right side of the road at highway speed. There was an unopened bottle of whiskey on the seat of the vehicle and the interior of the vehicle smelled like an alcoholic beverage. When the trooper went to the hospital to interview Westmark, the driver, Westmark appeared intoxicated and could not remember his phone number. A test of Westmark’s blood showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of .196 percent, and his driving record showed he had at least three prior DUI convictions.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, July 12:
Shane Johnson, 38, pleaded not guilty to issuing a bad check, common scheme, a felony. An omnibus hearing was set for Thursday, Aug. 23, and a jury trial set to begin Monday, Oct. 22. Both begin at 9 a.m. According to court documents, charges stem from incidences in March, July and August 2011 where Johnson allegedly wrote 83 bad checks to seven different Lake County merchants on a checking account at Community Bank. After the county attorney’s office notified Johnson of nonpayment, he failed to make the checks good or otherwise make arrangements for repayment.
Seth Harpst, 28, Polson, pleaded not guilty to theft, a felony. An omnibus hearing was set for Thursday, Aug. 23, and a jury trial set to begin Monday, Oct. 22. Both begin at 9 a.m. According to court documents, Harpst allegedly stole several items from a man who had rented Harpst a room in his house, including a generator, coins, silver, tools, DVDs and headphones, and pawned the items, which had a total value of more than $1,500. The landlord reported to the sheriff’s office that he had located his stolen generator at Depoe Junction in Polson, and a review of other pawn tickets under Harpst’s name showed he had pawned several silver coins and tools that were also stolen from his landlord. In an interview, Harpst admitted stealing the generator and pawning it and taking other items that were not his from his landlord’s home.
