Lake County District Court news for Nov. 2, 2011
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Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following cases Thursday, Oct. 27:
Jamie Ruth Dickson, 26, Elmo, pleaded not guilty to theft, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Thursday, Jan. 5 at 9 a.m. and a jury trial is set to begin Monday, Feb. 13 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from an August 13 incident where Dickson deprived a man of unemployment benefits by forging the victim’s name on the victim’s Montana Unemployment Insurance check in the amount of $1,843. The check was deposited into Dickson’s bank account.
The two people share a post office box and the victim was in the hospital when the check arrived at the post office. On August 24, the victim called a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy and reported his stolen unemployment check.
In an interview with the deputy, Dickson said she lives in the same home as the victim and admitted depositing the check into her account after forging his signature on the check.
Montanna Smith, 19, Whitefish, admitted committing an amended offense of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. The court accepted the plea and found Smith guilty.
The court granted a request for Smith to be released for one week to see her mother, providing everything necessary to complete a PSI is submitted to court first. Smith is to report back to in court seven days after her release. Sentencing is set for Thursday, Nov. 9 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, Smith was interviewed on October 8 regarding a suspected theft from a local diner. She told the Polson Police detective that she had a “Molly” (MDMA) in her backpack, which is listed as a schedule I dangerous drug. The detective also found several baggies of suspected drugs, a marijuana pipe, and other drug-related items. Smith acknowledged that these were her drugs and she knew they were illegal to possess. She then requested help getting treatment and that she wanted to take responsibility for her actions.
David Neale Gonzales, 35, Pablo, admitted committing an amended offense of partner family member assault, a felony. The court accepted the plea and found Gonzales guilty.
Sentencing is set for Thursday, Dec. 1 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from an October 11 incident where Gonzales’ girlfriend approached a Lake County deputy in the parking lot of the tribal complex. Her face was red and she was crying. She told the deputy that she had just been assaulted, and that Gonzales had hit her in the face and caused her nose to bleed. Gonzales was on the footbridge and told the deputy that he gets irritated when his girlfriend wants him to spend all his time with her. The deputy noted a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on Gonzales’ breath. Gonzales has two prior convictions for partner or family member assault.
Carl Anthony Draper, Jr., 33, Polson, pleaded not guilty to assault with a weapon, a felony. The court rejected a request for release on his own recognizance with GPS monitoring. An omnibus hearing is set for Thursday, Dec. 8 at 9 a.m. and a jury trial is set to begin Monday, Jan. 23 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from an October 3 incident when a woman told Draper that she wanted him to move out of her house. Draper then got a .45 semiautomatic pistol and pressed the barrel of the gun to her forehead. Draper told her he was going to kill her and her cat. She requested they go outside for a cigarette, and then she slipped back into her house and called the police. The police found Draper outside and the victim inside. The gun was also located inside the home. The victim was visibly shaken and crying, and said, “Don’t let him go, he will kill me.”
Mose Moulton, 33, Plains, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession with intent to distribute, a felony; and criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony. An omnibus hearing is set for Thursday, Nov. 17 and a jury trial for Monday, Jan. 23. Both begin at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from an August 5 traffic stop by a Flathead Tribal police officer for a broken taillight. As he approached the car, he saw the passenger place an object in a bag on the floorboard of the car. The officer recognized symptoms that were consistent with stimulant use in Moulton, the driver. As the officer was searching him and arresting Moulton for driving while his license was suspended, the officer found several hundred dollars in cash in Moulton’s pocket and a list of names and phone numbers. After obtaining a search warrant, tribal officers found 11 oxycodone pills and twenty plastic packages of methamphetamine. A cell phone on the front seat had several incoming messages from people seeking to purchase drugs.
David Andrew Boucher, Jr., 46, Polson, pleaded not guilty to burglary, a felony; three counts of misdemeanor theft; and a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief. An omnibus hearing is set for Thursday, Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. and a jury trial is set to begin Monday, Jan. 23 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from a September 17 incident where Polson police responded to a report that a chop saw and air compressor that had been left in a church kitchen were missing. The glass from a nearby window had been popped out and was lying on the ground. The pastor spoke to Boucher, a transient who been staying in a shed near the church’s property. Boucher told the pastor that the saw had been pawned at Depoe Junction. The saw was then identified as the stolen one.
Then around September 19, the owner of the shed where Boucher was living said Boucher had asked him to pawn some items, including an emergency kit and hand tools. Boucher was later located in Riverside Park and he admitted he’d taken the items from the church, and that he had broken into a vehicle at Riverside Park and stolen an emergency kit and hand tools. A day later, Boucher said he went back to the vehicle and slashed the tires with his pocketknife.
Tara Littlelight, 34, St. Ignatius, had her sentence for an amended offense of felony criminal endangerment deferred for three years. Littlelight was also committed to the Lake County Jail for 30 days. If she enters and successfully completes and inpatient treatment program and follows all recommendations, the 30 days will be suspended. Littlelight has six months to compete jail time or the treatment program.
According to court documents, charges stem from a Feb. 5 incident where a St. Ignatius police officer responded to a vehicle in the ditch off St. Mary’s Road. Upon arrival, he saw the driver, Littlelight, sitting at the wheel of a green van that was high-centered and stuck in the ditch. Littlelight smelled of alcohol, according to the officer, and she told him her cousin had driven the vehicle into the ditch. A Lake County dispatcher said Littlelight’s mother had called 911 just minutes earlier to report the van was stolen and that her daughter was intoxicated. When the mother arrived at the scene, she told officers she had observed Littlelight intoxicated and that Littlelight did not have permission to take the van.
Littlelight refused to provide a breath sample at the scene.
When a state trooper arrived, he informed the officers that this DUI was Littlelight’s fourth offense, so she was transported to the Lake County Detention Center for processing. She was not successful in completing sobriety tests and refused to provide a breath sample while at the detention center, but she did admit to having consumed four shots of whiskey.
Jan Allen Frampton, 49, Rockport, Tex., had his deferred sentence for felony criminal endangerment revoked. He was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years.
According to court documents, Frampton’s sentence was revoked for not reporting to his Texas Probation officer after moving to Texas in June.
Original charges date back to 2005 when Frampton crashed a truck on Highway 83 while driving intoxicated.
