Lake County District Court news for June 6, 2012
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Judge C.B. McNeil dealt with the following cases Wednesday, May 30:
Valerie Plant, 43, Pablo, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for 13 months followed by two years suspended for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a felony. According to court documents, charges stem from an June 2010 incident where a Flathead tribal police officer stopped a vehicle driven by Plant on U.S. Highway 93. The officer smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage and noted Plant’s eyes were bloodshot and her speech was slurred. Plant admitted she drank a few beers in Pablo, and her performance on sobriety exercised indicated her ability to drive was impaired. Plant also had three prior DUI convictions so a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy took over the investigation. While the deputy was removing Plant from the holding cell to take her to the tribal jail, a glass pipe of the type normally used to smoke methamphetamine fell out of Plant’s pocket. She admitted the pipe was used to smoke methamphetamine.
Phillip J. Pierre, 50, Polson, pleaded not guilty to failure to give notice of change of address by sexual or violent offender, a felony. An omnibus hearing was set for Wednesday, July 25, and a jury trial set to begin Monday, Oct. 15. Both begin at 9 a.m. Pierre remained in custody with a $200,000 bond. According to court documents, Pierre is a tier three sex offender required to register as a sex offender for a conviction of sexual intercourse without consent. On April 4, Pierre registered as a sex offender and provided an address in Pablo; on May 17, an officer attempted to locate Pierre to verify compliance with the registry, but Pierre no longer lived at his Pablo address. He had been living at a new address for several weeks without notifying the Sheriff’s Office.
Francois A. Pepion, 35, Arlee, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fourth or subsequent offense, a felony. An omnibus hearing was set for Wednesday, July 25, and a jury trial set to begin Monday, Oct. 15. Both begin at 9 a.m. According to court documents, charges stem from a May 16 incident where a tribal officer stopped a vehicle driven by Pepion in St. Ignatius. Pepion appeared intoxicated, smelled of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot. A breath sample given at the Lake County Jail showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of .101 percent, and Pepion’s driving record showed at least three prior DUI convictions.
Bryan Healy, 22, Polson, had his 2010 deferred sentence for burglary, a felony, revoked and was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for three years. According to court documents, Healy violated his probation by failing to complete the Treasure State Correctional program, failing to report to his probation officer as directed, moving without permission and failing to pay court-ordered restitution.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, May 31:
Jared Hendrickson, 21, Arlee, pleaded not guilty to four counts of assault with a weapon, felonies, and one count of accidents involving another person or deceased person, a felony. An omnibus hearing was set for Thursday, Aug. 2, and a jury trial set to begin Monday, Sept. 10. Both begin at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from a May 6 hit and run crash in Charlo involving a vehicle, driven by Hendrickson, and four pedestrians. Witnesses said the driver and two passengers had been involved in a fight outside Tiny’s Bar and then got into a flatbed pickup and drove east. After a short distance, the driver turned the truck around, began revving the engine, and accelerated toward Main Street. Just before Main Street, the pickup swerved to the left and drove through a group of pedestrians, hitting four of them. The most seriously injured victim suffered a compound fracture of the leg. The vehicle was located an hour later near Arlee. Hendrickson said in an interview that he and a friend had drunk a 24-pack of beer throughout the evening, and around bar closing time, he was told that his friend was in a fight outside the bar. He went outside and found his girlfriend and his friend involved in fights.
At first he said he drove away and made a U-turn, stopped, and a male he didn’t know jumped in the truck and grabbed the wheel. He said his foot slipped off the clutch and he drove into the crowd, striking a woman. Hendrickson said he pushed the man out and drove away, unsure if he had hit anyone else. Later he admitted that nobody had tried to get in the truck or grab the wheel, and he couldn’t explain why he swerved.
A breath test at 8:15 a.m. showed Hendrickson had a blood alcohol concentration of .043 percent.
Investigators reconstructed the movement of the pickup based on marks on the roadway, which indicated the vehicle had swerved abruptly left while accelerating, consistent with witness statements.
Yancy McCrea, 25, Ronan, was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years, all suspended but 30 days. He has until Sept. 15 to start his jail time or enter and complete an inpatient chemical dependency program.
According to court documents, the charge stems from a February 2011 incident when Tribal Police officers searched McCrea’s residence and found several small plastic bags containing white powder residue consistent with methamphetamine and other evidence that McCrea had violated his probation. McCrea’s probation officer then authorized police to arrest McCrea and search his vehicle. Shortly after, the officers found McCrea in his vehicle at Mission Mart in Ronan and arrested him for probation violation. When he was told that several bags of suspected methamphetamine were found in his house, McCrea said, “I know; they are mine.” The Montana State Crime Lab later identified the substance in the bags as methamphetamine.
