Courts

Stories by Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal

Martinez pleads not guilty to felony assault

POLSON — A Pablo man is accused of cutting a woman’s chin with a knife because she tried to wake him. Joseph Anthony Martinez, 42, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson on May 4 to felony assault with a weapon.

According to court records, on Jan. 26, Martinez called 911 to request an ambulance for a woman with a large cut on her chin. The woman was transported to an area hospital where she received stitches for her cut. She initially claimed to have fallen on the ice. She later changed her story and told a law enforcement officer that she had been staying with Martinez at a Polson hotel. She indicated that

Martinez was coming down from the effects of methamphetamine and sleeping. She said she tried to wake Martinez and he stabbed at her with a knife, cutting open her chin. Martinez was initially set to be arraigned on the assault with a weapon charge Joseph Martinez on April 27, but showed up to court with a blood alcohol content of .359. Judge James Manley set this case for trial Oct. 3. A bond hearing is set for May 11.

Malatare pleads not guilty to aggravated assault

POLSON — A Pablo man is accused of beating a woman so badly she suffered 10 broken ribs. Pierre Joseph Malatare Jr., 24, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson on May 4 to felony aggravated assault.

According to court records, on April 22, law enforcement received an anonymous tip that Malatare had Pierre just beaten a “Jane Malatare Jr. Doe.” Later that day, law enforcement received a call from staff at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson requesting law enforcement to investigate a possible assault. Responding officers observed bruising on “Jane Doe’s” face, under her chin, around both ears, most of both arms, knees, chest and back. She indicated that Malatare punched her repeatedly with closed fists. “Jane Doe” was later transported to Providence St. Patrick Medical Center in Missoula where she was treated for 10 broken ribs. Malatare was later located by law enforcement and questioned. When shown a picture of “Jane Doe’s” injuries Malatare allegedly stated, “she’s going to live, right?”

Judge James Manley set a trial date of Oct. 3. Malatare remains in the Lake County jail with bond set at $50,000.

Thompson pleads not guilty to theft

POLSON — A Ronan man is accused of stealing a car because he thought it was on abandoned property. Trent Harley Thompson, 43, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson May 4 to felony theft.

According to court records, on April 7, a woman reported her daughter’s 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix as stolen. She indicated the car was where it was supposed to be a week ago, but it was now gone. Later that day the same woman called law enforcement back to report she had located the Pontiac parked at a residence on Whispering Pines Drive in Pablo. A law enforcement officer arrived at that location and visited with the property owner, later identified as Thompson. Initially, Thompson indicated that the Pontiac just showed up on his property a week ago. He later admitted that he took the Pontiac because he thought the property on which the Pontiac was located was abandoned.

Judge James Manley set the case for trial Oct. 3. Thompson is at liberty.

Trent Thompson

Tester testifies: fights agains consolidation Turner pleads no

News from the office of Senator Tester

U.S. SENATE — We made a lot of progress last week on our fight against consolidation in the agriculture industry. Consolidation in any industry is never good, and the ag industry is no exception. It means capitalism isn’t working, and in the meatpacking industry’s case, it’s killing rural America— putting generational ranchers out of business and hurting consumers at the beef case by inflating prices. That’s why I was thrilled to testify in support of two of my bipartisan ag transparency and competition bills as they were reviewed by the Senate Agriculture Committee last week.

I’ve been fighting for more transparency in the industry for years. Transparency is critical for ensuring Montana ranchers are getting a fair price at the farm gate, and consumers are getting a fair price at the grocery counter. We’re continuing to educate folks and shine light on this critical issue every chance we get, so I was glad to join Lawrence O’Donnell on air to explain how putting more competition in the marketplace will benefit producers AND consumers.

In Montana and across the nation, there’s strong grassroots support behind my Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act and my Meat Packing Special Investigator Act, because Montanans know that capitalism only works when there’s competition. Competitive markets are essential for a vibrant rural America, and as anticompetitive practices from the corporate ag world drive family producers out of business, we’re seeing rural America dry up.

That’s why I took to the Senate floor to sound the alarm—urging my colleagues to act on my bills to preserve our nation’s long-held and necessary tradition of family farm agriculture.

Our pressure is working, folks. This critical issue is finally getting the spotlight it deserves, but I won’t stop until real changes are made and both Montana families and producers can make ends meet.

contest to felony endangerment

POLSON — Sentencing is tentatively set for June 23 for a Ronan man accused of inappropriate communications with a minor. Dwayne Oliver Turner, 36, entered a “no contest” plea at District Court in Polson May 4 Dwayne Turner to an amended charge of felony criminal endangerment. Turner was initially charged with felony sexual abuse of a minor. The “no contest” plea came as part of a plea agreement that amended the charge.

According to court records, on Sept. 16, 2021, a “Jane Doe” reported to her high school counselor that an acquaintance had made some inappropriate comments over the social media platform snapchat. “Jane Doe” was fifteen at the time. More correspondence included mention of a $250 payment.

The “no contest” plea still carries the weight of a conviction. Turner was on probation for theft and burglary charges at the time. This latest conviction is a violation of his probation. A revocation hearing in the matter is also tentatively set for June 23.

DPHHS scales back COVID-19 data reporting

News from Montana DPHHS

MONTANA — Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials announced recently that due to the low level of COVID-19 transmission in Montana at this time, updates to the COVID-19 cases and vaccine dashboards will move to a weekly reporting cadence.

Updates to both dashboards will now be posted every Friday, beginning May 13, to include updated data of cumulative cases, new cases, hospitalizations, total deaths, vaccine doses administered, etc. from the previous week.

The COVID-19 weekday emails will also concluded on May 6.

Additionally, the CDC COVID-19 community levels will be displayed on the COVID-19 dashboard. The COVID-19 community levels are a tool to help communities decide what prevention and mitigation steps to take based on the latest data.

DPHHS also recently scaled back or discontinued various data reports that have been posted on the COVID-19 webpage regularly over the past two years.

Changes to the following reports include: - The weekly surveillance report will continue. The report provides a weekly snapshot of COVID-19 activity in Montana. However, the report now include longterm care (LTC) and assisted living facilities (ALF) data. - DPHHS will pause on publishing updated separate weekly reports of COVID-19 cases in schools, LTC and ALF, and the hospital occupancy report. However, as mentioned above, information related to LTC and ALF will be included in the weekly report. Archives of all previous reports can be found here. - The demographic tables will now be updated on a weekly basis instead of daily. - The vaccination report by county will now be updated every other week.

These changes do not mean that public health officials have scaled back COVID-19 surveillance efforts. DPHHS will continue to closely monitor COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in Montana. Local public health officials will continue to investigate COVID-19 outbreaks and cases in settings which may expose individuals at high risk for severe outcomes. Health officials request that the public follow COVID-19 precautions recommended by the CDC given their community’s COVID-19 transmission and hospitalization levels, including being current on COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters.

Annual Ronan spring cleanup approaches

News from the City of Ronan

RONAN — In Cooperation with Ronan Schools, Ronan Chamber of Commerce, the City of Ronan, and Republic Services, the 2022 Ronan Spring Cleanup will be held May 11 through May 16.

Republic Services has donated the use of large dumpster, it will be located across from the firehall. The city will pick up large items on request. To do so, please call 676-4231 to schedule.

Please, let’s all take advantage of this opportunity to clean up our town.

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