courts Stories by Jeff Smith of Anderson Broadcasting for the Valley Journal
Breese sentenced for impersonation POLSON — A Polson man was committed at District Court in Polson on Nov. 3 to the Montana Department of Corrections for three years with all that time suspended for impersonating a public servant during the Boulder 2700 fire on Aug. 1, 2021. In addition, Donald Stephen Breese, 49, was sentenced to a six-month jail term with all but 30 days suspended on a misdemeanor obstruction charge. The sentences will run concurrent to each other. Breese entered a plea of guilty to the charges at District Court in Polson on July 28. At the
time, Breese’s attorney, Scott Hilderman of Kalispell, told Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher that his client intended to enter a “no contest” plea, but the judge said that is not good enough and wanted Breese to admit what he did, thus the guilty plea was entered. According to charging documents, on Aug. 1, 2021, a Lake County Sheriff ’s deputy responded to a report of someone impersonating a firefighter at the Finley Point Fire Hall. Witnesses told the deputy that a man, later identified as Breese, drove to the fire hall
Ohara pleads guilty to burglary POLSON — A Bigfork man has admitted to breaking into a state-owned building for the purpose of committing a theft. Colby Glenn Ohara, 32 entered a plea of guilty at District Court in Polson on Nov. 2 to one count of felony burglary. Ohara was initially charged with three counts of burglary, but two of the charges are to be dismissed at sentencing as part of a plea agreement. According to court records, on July 14, a Lake County Sheriff ’s deputy responded to a report of a break-in with items missing at a Montana Department of Transportation facility on U.S. Highway 83 near mile marker 80.5. On July 17, a break-in with items missing was reported at the 8 - November 9, 2022
Bigfork Gun Club. Another MDOT facility on U.S. Highway 83 near mile marker 58 was broken into sometime between July 22 and July 26. On July 28, someone attempted to use a credit card stolen from one of the MDOT facilities at an area gas station. Lake County Undersheriff Ben Woods was able to get a license plate number of the vehicle the person who attempted to use the card was driving and traced it to Ohara. A search warrant was obtained for where Ohara was staying. A search of the residence turned up items stolen from the burglaries. When questioned, Ohara admitted to the burglaries. Judge Molly Owen set a sentencing date of Jan. 4. Ohara remains at liberty.
wearing green Nomex pants, a shirt bearing the Missoula Fire Lab insignia and portable radio equipped with a harness. At one point the man claimed to be incident commander and head of the forest service. The man was able to gain access to the fire area during the early stages of the fire as homes were being destroyed. It was later determined that Breese was not with the Missoula Fire Lab, nor a part of any other fire agency. Deputies with the Lake County Sheriff ’s office executed a search warrant at Breese’s Pol-
son residence Aug. 4, 2021 and located the Nomex pants, and other firefighting gear. Photos taken in the early stages of the Boulder 2700 fire were also recovered from the home. This is not the first time Breese has lied about his background. According to a story published Sept. 15, 2010 by The Star Ledger, Breese got a job “overseeing safety and explosive operations while passing himself off as a combat veteran and member of an elite group of military experts trained to disarm and dispose of bombs” at two military installations in
Cleveland sentenced for possession POLSON — A Lolo man was committed at District Court in Polson on Nov. 2 to 10 years with the Montana Department of Corrections with all but time served suspended. Jay Le Cleveland, 46, had entered a “no contest” plea to one count of criminal possession with intent to distribute during an earlier court appearance. In a “no contest” plea, a defendant concedes the case based on state’s evidence. The plea was entered as part of a plea agreement that dismisses another count of criminal possession with intent to distribute. According to court records, on Jan. 12, law enforcement responded to a report of a man slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle in the parking lot of a grocery store at 10:30 a.m. The man was identified as Cleveland, who was already on probation. Cleveland’s probation officer gave the responding law enforcement agency permission to search Cleveland’s vehicle. The search allegedly turned up a digital scale, 32 grams of methamphetamine and 179 fentanyl pills with the “M-30” stamp. Judge Molly Owen gave Cleveland credit for already having served 42 days in the Lake County jail.
Valley Journal
New Jersey. He was convicted of falsifying his resume to get that job according to that published article. The article also indicated that Breese was given three years of supervised release after having served four months in prison. It was that past incident that caused Judge Christopher to insist on some jail time on these charges. The initial plea agreement offered no actual jail time. Fourteen homes and 17 outbuildings were destroyed in that fire according to Mark Clary, director of Lake County’s Office of Emergency Management.
Flammond pleads not guilty to endangerment
POLSON — A Ronan woman is accused of causing a drunk driving crash that injured two occupants. Tynneal Renae Flammond,19, entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson on Nov. 3 to two counts of felony criminal endangerment. According to court records, on July 23, emergency crews responded to a report of a one vehicle rollover on U. S. Highway 93 near mile marker 38. One female occupant had to be air lifted from the scene to Providence St. Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula, a second oc-
cupant was transported by a relative to St. Luke Hospital in Ronan and Flammond was airlifted to Logan Health in Kalispell. A blood draw taken at Logan Health showed Flammond’s blood alcohol content at .187. When questioned by law enforcement Flammond admitted she was driving the vehicle when it rolled. She denied consuming alcohol. One of the injured occupants told investigators that Flammond had been drinking all day the day of the accident. Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher set a trial date of April 10.
