Courts

Stories by Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal

Polson man pleads guilty to strangulation, protective order violation Columbia Falls woman ordered to

POLSON — A Polson man has admitted to his part in strangling a woman through the rear window of a pickup last June as well as other charges involving her.

Morgan Aniba Quinones Velazquez, 48, entered a guilty plea at District Court in Polson on Sept. 22 to misdemeanor violation of a protection order, felony violation of a protection order and felony strangulation of a partner or family member. The guilty pleas came as part of an agreement that will dismiss at sentencing felony counts of violation of a protection order, felony criminal endangerment and misdemeanor criminal destruction of or tampering with a communications device. The agreement does not include a sentence recommendation, meaning the judge can hand down the maximum sentence. In this case the maximum amounts to seven and a half years incarceration, according to prosecutor Molly Owen with the Lake County Attorney’s office.

According to court records, on June 14, 2020, a woman called 911 to report Velazquez had run her off the road and into a ditch. The woman told a responding Lake County Sheriff’s deputy that she was on her way to work when Velazquez approached her from the opposite direction in another vehicle and tried to run her off the road. After some more evasive action was taken by the victim, she was eventually forced to stop her vehicle. Velazquez was able to access the bed of her truck by stepping onto the running boards. He got into the cab of the truck through a sliding rear window. The woman states that’s when Velazquez wrapped his arms around her neck and began choking her causing her to drive into the ditch. She says she tried to call 911 from her mobile phone but Velazquez grabbed it out of her hands and threw it down. She was able to get out of the truck and run to a witness for help and make the 911 call.

Quinones Velazquez was already facing the three counts of violation of an order of protection prior to the June 14, 2020 incident.

Judge James Manley set sentencing for Nov. 11.

pay over $78K in restitution

POLSON — A Columbia Falls woman has been ordered to pay restitution totaling $78,824.21 for her participation in possessing items she knew were stolen from storage units in the Condon Area.

Sierra Kay Fischer, 28, was convicted for crimes involving co-defendants Eugene Thomas Germain, 27; Brandon Tollie, 26, of Woods Bay; Mitchell Bear Raymond,

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COVID surge

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Complicating matters further, the highly contagious Delta variant appears to be hitting younger people much harder than its predecessor. The latest case count for Lake County from the Department of Health and Human Services, posted Friday, tallied 31 new cases in ages 40 and under out of a total of 46; 19 were under 20.

“We have been seeing younger patients that don’t have chronic underlying conditions come down with serious cases of COVID,” says Byers.

Huntley echoed that observation, saying he’s also seen more positive cases in younger patients. Although the CDC is still gathering and analyzing data, statistics from earlier this month demonstrate “the overall case number has been increasing in younger populations, and that this Delta variant is far more contagious than what we’ve experienced last year.”

He also notes that people who have been vaccinated are still getting COVID. “I can tell you this, however, the people that are vaccinated that are contracting the virus are far less acutely ill than those that haven’t been vaccinated.”

These observations concur with CDC data, released in late August, showing that unvaccinated people are almost 5 times more likely to be infected with COVID 19 than their vaccinated counterparts, and 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID than those who are fully vaccinated.

In Montana, 1,095 people were hospitalized with COVID between July 17 and Sept. 10. Of those, 83% were unvaccinated; and of the 130 COVID-related deaths that occurred during that period, 73% were unvaccinated.

This research backs up the plea made by healthcare providers and infectious disease experts since last spring for people to get vaccinated and adhere to measures recommended by the CDC: mask up indoors and practice hand hygiene and social distancing.

Despite all the obstacles facing healthcare workers these days, Huntley sees some silver linings. Among them, “cooperation and collaboration between all of the healthcare providers in Lake County is without a doubt at an all-time high.”

He also believes his staff has risen to the challenges, “helping each other in ways I never imagined possible.” That teamwork helped earn St. Joseph the Leadership in Quality and Safety Award from the Montana Hospital Association last week.

“Even in the midst of this latest COVID surge, we continue to provide extraordinary care to those that come to us seeking solace,” he says.

Manyhides pleads guilty to drug possession

By Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal

POLSON — A Polson man is getting four separate drug cases dismissed for pleading guilty to a fifth. Matthew George Manyhides, 33, entered a guilty plea to felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs and a reduced charge of misdemeanor assault. The pleas were entered during a change of plea hearing at District Court in Polson on Sept. 22. In exchange for his guilty plea, the state is willing to dismiss at sentencing four counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and amend felony assault with a weapon to misdemeanor assault.

Manyhides is accused in charging documents of threatening a group of people, including a sibling, with a knife at an apartment in the 400 block of 11th Ave E in Polson on Dec. 23, 2020. Manyhides admitted to responding officers to using the knife to scare the group of people.

He also is accused of being in possession of methamphetamine after Ronan Police allegedly found methamphetamine in the car he was driving on Dec. 6, 2020.

The cases to be dismissed involve an incident on April 1 when Polson Police were dispatched to a report of possible drug sales taking place from a gray Chrysler in the Polson Wal-Mart parking lot. As officers arrived the gray Chrysler was driving away and a traffic stop was made. Manyhides was a passenger. He was found to have had “two large wads of cash” in his pockets ranging from fives to twenties. Manyhides explained it was his stimulus money. Officers also located heroin in the vehicle and items used to consume heroin.

Manyhides was the subject of another traffic stop on April 3. A search of the vehicle he was driving turned up methamphetamine. In another traffic stop on April 9, officers found heroin and items to ingest heroin. Manyhides was spotted driving again on June 17. The officer who observed Manyhides knew his driving privileges were revoked so a traffic stop was conducted. A search of the vehicle he was Matthew driving turned up 30 blue pills Manyhides that contained fentanyl. Judge James Manley, who is not bound by the plea agreement, set sentencing for Nov. 10. Manyhides remains in the Lake County jail with bail set at $75,000.

Columbia Falls

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25, of Bigfork; and Crystal Chase, 31, of Woods Bay.

Germain, Tollie and Raymond are all currently serving lengthy terms from multiple jurisdictions throughout Northwest Montana involving similar crimes. Chase got a five-year term due to numerous probation violations.

The sentence for Fischer was in accordance with a plea agreement reached June 11. She was initially charged with three counts of burglary, one count of felony burglary, and three counts of misdemeanor theft.

All five co-defendants are equally yet separately responsible for paying restitution. vj

Martinez sentenced for failure to register as violent offender

By Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal

POLSON — A Great Falls man, with a lengthy criminal record, was committed at District Court in Polson on Sept. 22 by Judge James Manley to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections with none of that time suspended for failing to register as a violent offender.

Dominic Antonio Martinez, 29, was under court order to register as a violent offender stemming from a 2018 conviction.

Martinez pled guilty to the charge without the benefit of a negotiated plea agreement, but the state did agree to dismiss felony charges of burglary and robbery due to a “lack of cooperation” by the alleged victim according to prosecutor Ben Anciaux with the Lake County Attorney’s office.

As for the burglary and robbery charges, according to court records, on Dec. 17, 2020, a woman called 911 to report that three people had broken into her boyfriend’s home where she was staying, assaulted her and stolen items from her. A Lake County Sheriff’s deputy documented damage to the front entry door. The alleged victim told the deputy that Martinez, along with another man and woman she did not recognize, broke in the front door. She went on

to state that Martinez came into her room, placed her in a choke hold and asked where the valuables were while the unidentified woman punched her in the face. The deputy observed injuries to the alleged victim’s face and mouth that were consistent with her story. Martinez was released from the Montana State Prison about a month before the alleged burglary. A warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to report to his probaDominic tion officer about seven days Martinez after his release from prison. He was arrested on that warrant on Feb. 10, still not having registered as a violent offender. Martinez, who was born in Polson, has eight prior felony convictions and 44 prior misdemeanor convictions according to Anciaux.

Great Falls man sentenced for drug possession,endangerment

By Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal

POLSON — A Great Falls man who led law enforcement from two counties on a high-speed chase on U.S. Highway 93 after he escaped from a Montana Department of Corrections proJoseph gram admitted to the Brown charges related to the incident.

Joseph Patrick Thomas Brown, 36, pled guilty at District Court in Polson on Sept. 23 to criminal possession with intent to distribute and criminal endangerment, felonies.

According to court records, on March 20, authorities in Lake County were notified of a “road rage” incident on U.S. Highway 93 just north of Ravalli near mile marker 29. It appeared that one motorist sideswiped another motorist and continued north without stopping. That was at about 11:29 on a Saturday night. Sgt. Cory White with Ronan Police intercepted the suspect vehicle and pursued it northbound. The chase proceeded north through Polson into Lakeside where deputies with the Flathead County Sheriff’s office were able to disable Brown’s vehicle with spike strips at about 12:15 a.m. March 21. A search of the vehicle Brown was driving turned up four baggies of methamphetamine, each weighing 4.6 grams, and a digital scale.

Judge Robert J. Whelan of Butte presided over the case via the Zoom platform and committed Brown to the Montana Department of Corrections for a total of 12 years with all but 186 days jail time already served suspended. The sentence is to run consecutive to any other terms Brown is facing.