9 minute read
Courts
from 03-16-22 issue
Stories by Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal
Gardipe pleads not guilty to bomb threat
POLSON — An Elmo man who was sentenced at District Court in Polson Jan. 12 to six years in the Montana State Prison for felony theft and burglary charges is facing more legal trouble for calling in a false bomb threat.
Trevor Daniel Gardipe, 26, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson March 9 to felony charges of intimidation and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
According to court records, on April 29, 2021, dispatchers with Flathead Tribal Police received a call from a man stating he was going to “bomb the tribal jail and complex today.” As a result, the entire CSKT complex in Pablo was evacuated and searched. A bomb was never found. Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Dan Yonkin was able to determine the threat was made from a phone that has an application, textnow, that allows a subscriber to spoof other phone numbers. After obtaining a search warrant, Detective Yonkin learned the threat came from a phone associated with a certain gmail account. With information provided by cellphone service provider Verizon, Detective Yonkin was able to determine that
two cellphones were in use in Lake County at the time of the bomb threat. One of those phones was owned by Gardipe. Gardipe was incarcerated in the tribal jail at the time the bomb threat was made. Video surveillance at the jail showed Gardipe with a phone the day the threat was made. A Trevor search of the phone reGardipe vealed it had been wiped of its contents twice on April 29, 2021, after the threat was made. Detective Yonkin was able to determine that the application textnow had been on Gardipe’s phone prior to the bomb threat. Judge James Manley set a jury trial for Aug. 1. Gradipe remains in the Lake County jail until trial.
Irvine pleads guilty to assault
POLSON — A Ronan man who was accused of head butting a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy pleaded guilty at District Court in Polson on March 9 to felony assault on a peace or judicial officer.
Clint Headdress Irvine, 30, was charged with assaulting Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Jernigan on Jan. 23. Deputy Jernigan had responded on that day to a residence in Ronan after a woman called law enforcement requesting
the removal of two men from her back porch. Upon arrival, Deputy Jernigan identified one of the men as Irvine. The deputy knew Irvine was wanted on a theft charge stemming from an incident in July 2020. As Deputy Jernigan was attempting to pat Irvine down prior to placing him in his patrol unit, Irvine head butted Deputy Jernigan causing the deputy’s glasses to cut the side of his head. Clint The plea agreement calls for the Irvine theft charge being dismissed at sentencing. Judge James Manley set sentencing for April 27. Irvine was given an own recognizance release with certain conditions including alcohol monitoring.
Skov pleads guilty to assault
POLSON — A Polson man has admitted to assaulting a police officer. Kai Earl Skov, 50, entered a plea of guilty at District Court in Polson on March 9 to felony assault on a peace or judicial officer.
According to charging documents, on Jan. 4, Lake County emergency dispatcher’s requested Polson Police respond to Skov’s residence on a report that Skov was screaming and cussing and that a shot may have been fired. At the scene, two responding officers observed Skov standing on his porch. As the officers approached, Skov went back inside. The officers rang the doorbell and knocked on the door and called for Skov to come
out, but Skov allegedly refused. Skov eventually appeared and confronted one of the officers, then picked up a metallic object with a blade on it and held it over his head as if to throw it at the officers. One of the officers deployed his stun gun and forced Skov to the ground. Skov resisted and kicked one of the officers in the face. Skov was taken into custody but continued to be belligerent Kai during the booking process. Skov Skov’s guilty plea came as part of an agreement that will dismiss at sentencing all other charges. Lake County Attorney Steve Eschenbacher says the plea agreement calls for Skov being committed to the Montana Department of Corrections for 10 years with five years suspended. Judge James Manley set sentencing for April 27.
POLSON — A Pablo man is facing a jury trial Aug. 1 on three separate drug possession cases. Anthony Louis Alexander, 41, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson March 9 to four counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and one count of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs.
According to court records, on Dec. 14, 2018, Alexander was picked up on an outstanding warrant. He was allegedly found to be in possession of a baggie containing methamphetamine. A search of the car he was driving at the time turned up a case containing syringes and other drug injecting items.
On May 4, 2020, Polson Police executed a search warrant on Alexander’s residence. They allegedly found a baggie
of meth, multiple baggies with meth residue, boxes of syringes, glass meth pipes, burnt foil, digital scale, .22 pistol, 12 gauge shotgun, and baggie of heroin. Alexander was arrested and transported to the Lake County jail. After he was removed from the patrol car, officers located a baggie of heroin on the floorboard of the patrol unit where Alexander was sitting. Then on July 14, 2021, a law enforcement officer observed Alexander walking in Polson. Knowing Alexander Anthony Alexander was wanted on an outstanding warrant, the officer detained Alexander. During his arrest, the officer allegedly located a baggie of heroin. Another baggie was located on Alexander when he was booked into jail that allegedly contained methamphetamine. Judge James Manley set all three cases for trial Aug. 1. Alexander remains in the Lake County jail with bail set at $25,000.
By Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal
POLSON — A St. Ignatius man is accused of leading law enforcement on a pursuit in May of last year. Stacey Edward Stevens, 47, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson on March 10 to felony charges of criminal endangerment and criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
According to court records, on May 26, 2021, law enforcement attempted to stop a Subaru for not signaling at several turns. The officer also knew the Subaru’s driver, Stevens, was wanted on an outstanding warrant. The Subaru took off at a high rate of speed and the pursuing law enforcement officer momentarily lost sight of the Subaru. A short time later, the Subaru was found abandoned in a wooded area. A search of the vehicle turned up methamphetamine. Stevens was arrested March 1 of this year after being involved in another pursuit with law enforcement in the St. Ignatius area with a stolen 2006 Ford Focus.
Stevens was already on probation in May 2021 on an assault conviction from 2013.
Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher set a trial date of June 13 for the charges stemming from the May 26, 2021 pursuit. Prosecutor Ben Anciaux, with the Lake County Attorney’s office, says Stevens may be facing an additional theft charge.
Wills pleads not guilty to intimidation
By Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal
POLSON — A Dayton man is accused of threatening to kill his neighbor if Lake County authorities don’t charge the neighbor for acts relating to an ongoing dispute over a shared easement. Lonnie Wills, 52, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson March 9 to felony intimidation.
The alleged threat was made over the phone to a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy who had recorded the phone conversation. The alleged threat was made between Sept. 16 and Oct. 16, 2021.
Judge James Manley set the case for trial Aug. 1. Wills is at liberty.
2022 Mission Mountain Golf League
Informational Meeting & Initial Sign-ups
Men’s informational meeting March 30 - 6:00 PM Fun Night - April 6th 1st night of league play - April 13th
Ladie’s informational meeting April 26 - 6:00 PM Fun Night - May 3rd 1st night of league play - May 10th
Looking for new teams & golfers both ladies & men
676-GOLF (4653)
3 miles west of Ronan on Round Butte Road
Lack of February precipitation decreases snowpack
News from NRCS
BOZEMAN — Despite another round of promising weather outlooks, February did not bring the anticipated storms and was, overall, disappointingly dry. The main culprit was a stubborn ridge of high pressure off the West Coast that blocked Pacific moisture from flowing to the Rocky Mountain region. Southwest Montana only received 50-80% of its typical precipitation and even set record low accumulations for February, according to USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) SNOTEL period of record data. “January precipitation was below normal for most of Montana, and February was worse in many river basins,” said NRCS Hydrologist Eric Larson. Northwest Montana near the Continental Divide was one exception, receiving more than five inches of precipitation during the last several days of February.
Due to the overall lack of February precipitation, most snowpack percentages decreased from Feb. 1. Exceptions were the Sun-Teton-Marias, Powder, and Tongue River basins which increased slightly. Montana’s current snowpack percent of normal ranges from 77% to 107%, with the Smith-Judith-Musselshell at the lower end of that range and the Kootenai and St. Marys at the upper end. “Last year much of the seasonal snowpack was recovered during February and we all hoped for the same this year. Unfortunately, the snowpack was overall in better shape on March 1 last year than it is now,” said Larson.
Basins currently lacking snow will need well above normal precipitation over the next couple of months to meet their typical snowpack peaks. “While the chances of meeting those peaks becomes less likely as the season progresses, it is not impossible to recover from a well below normal March 1 snowpack and it has happened before,” said Larson. In general, March and April are large contributors to water year precipitation, particularly east of the Continental Divide. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center does give hope for potential improvement to conditions over the next few weeks. The 6-10 day outlook also shows promise, with good chances for below average temperatures and above average precipitation across Montana.
March 1 streamflow forecasts generally follow the snowpack pattern across the state indicating below normal streamflows for April through July in southwest Montana and near to above normal west of the Continental Divide and in the streams along the Rocky Mountain Front. “The next couple of months will determine if basins with below normal snowpacks can add to their mountain reservoirs, reach normal peaks, and improve the outlook for streamflow this spring and summer,” said Larson. Additionally, springtime weather will be a major factor in streamflow. If spring weather warms up quickly, streams could peak early and have less water to deliver through the summer. Conversely, if it stays cool – and if more snow arrives next week as predicted – the water supply picture could be better.
A full report of conditions on March, 1 can be found in the monthly Water Supply Outlook Report available on the Montana Snow Survey website. In addition, real-time snow survey data can be found at: www.mt.nrcs.usda. gov under Snow Survey.
