Assiniboine sentenced for assault, possession
courtesy photo
Michael Assiniboine
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POLSON — A St. Ignatius man received five years in the Montana State Prison on one count of assault on a peace officer and another five years MSP for criminal possession of dangerous drugs. The sentences are to run concurrently. A total of four years with the Montana Department of Corrections with none of that time suspended was added during the sentencing hearing before Judge Molly Owen in Polson District Court on June 21.
Michael Anthony Assiniboine, 35, was initially charged with burglary and theft for breaking into a residence on Riley Lane in St. Ignatius July 23, 2013 and stealing a Chevy Blazer. The Blazer was later located in Dixon, where a witness claimed Assiniboine attempted to sell him the Blazer. The witness also claimed that Assiniboine would often return to remove parts from the Blazer. Assiniboine is also alleged to have stolen a 2005 Kawasaki four-wheeler on Dec. 29, 2015 from a residence on Sabine Creek Road. Tracks led investigators to the four-wheeler location off road and deep in the woods. While charges from those incidents were pending, Assiniboine was granted permission to attend his father’s funeral on July 8, 2016. Due to his incarceration, law enforcement accompanied him to the services. At some point during the services, someone passed Assiniboia a condom containing syringes, money and heroin which he tried to swallow. A deputy with the Lake County Sheriff’s office had to deploy his stun gun on Assiniboine and wrestle with him to keep him from ingesting the condom.
The bail jumping charge stems from a missed court appearance on a previous drug possession case in 2015.
The sentencing was in accordance with a plea agreement reached during an earlier court appearance in which Assiniboine resolved three separate cases against him. And brought convictions on two counts of burglary, assault on a peace officer and criminal possession of dangerous drugs. In exchange for his guilty pleas on those charges the state agreed to dismiss one count of CPDD and two counts of theft.
