courts Stories by Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal
Ondaro pleads guilty to felony assault POLSON — A Bigfork man admitted to threatening people with a gun at a construction site in Ferndale last August. Jared Anthony Ondaro, 50, entered a plea of guilty at District Court in Polson on April 28 to felony assault with a weapon. He was initially charged Jared Ondaro with three counts of assault with a weapon, one for each alleged victim, but two counts are to be dismissed at sentencing in exchange for his guilty plea to the one count. According to court records, on August 12, 2021, a man at a construction site on Sundance trail in Ferndale reported that an intoxicated man was driving around brandishing a firearm. At the scene, three witnesses told responding Lake County Sheriff ’s Deputy Jim Atkins that a
man had parked at the end of the driveway, stumbled down it and yelled “build it right” and “not to build shitty homes in my neighborhood.” The man then went back to his vehicle and yelled from his vehicle that he would kill them and uttered a racial slur at them while making the threat. The man then drove off only to return a few minutes later. This time the man, later identified as Ondaro, drew a pistol and chambered a round while walking down the driveway. That’s when one of the construction workers drew his own firearm and Ondaro went back to his vehicle and drove off. The three construction workers were able to identify Ondaro after talking to the president of the homeowners association that covers the neighborhood of the construction site. Judge John Larson of Missoula presided over the case remotely. He set the case for sentencing June 23.
Burland pleads not guilty to assault POLSON — An Elmo man is accused of attempting to harm members of the household where he was residing in Elmo. Zeke Burland, 18, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson on April 27 to two counts of felony assault with a weapon. According to court records, on April 12, law Zeke Burland enforcement were called to a disturbance at a residence in Elmo. At the scene, witnesses told respond-
ing officers that Burland had returned home intoxicated and was tearing up the home and throwing furniture around. When confronted about his behavior by a woman in her fifties, Burland allegedly went at her with a knife. A third person attempted to intervene and suffered a cut on his right hand near his pinky finger. The responding officers recovered the knife from the kitchen floor and documented damage inside the home consistent with witness accounts. Judge James Manley set a trial date of Oct. 3. Burland remains in the Lake County jail with bail set at $25,000.
Skov pleads guilty to assault on a peace officer
POLSON — A Polson man was committed at District Court in Polson on April 27 to 10 years with the Montana Department of Corrections with five years suspendKai Skov ed on one count of
assault on a peace or judicial officer. Kai Earl Skov, 50, was sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement reached March 9 that dismisses misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. According to charging documents, on Jan. 4, Lake County emergency dispatchers 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
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Valley Journal
May 4, 2022 - 7
