8 minute read
Courts
from 11/09/22 issue
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 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 Polson 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 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.
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 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.
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.
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 occupant 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.
POLSON — A Polson man has admitted to his involvement in a domestic disturbance that occurred in September. Shawn Allen Salisbury, 46, entered a plea of guilty at District Court in Polson on Nov. 2 to partner or family member assault. Salisbury also admitted that he has two prior convictions for partner or family member assault, making this his third conviction and qualifying the charge as a felony.
According to court records, on Sept. 15, Polson police responded to a 911 call regarding a possible assault. Dispatchers could hear yelling and what sounded like items being thrown around in the background. At the scene officers located Salisbury who stated, “bring me to jail.” Salisbury had an injury to his hand and was taken into custody. The alleged victim was crying. She stated that Salisbury hit her along the side of the head. Officers observed that she appeared to have a black eye. They also observed items thrown around and trash scattered about the living room. The alleged victim also stated that Salisbury had broken down her door prior to this most recent incident. The officers documented damage to the door including cracks in the door frame and a missing handle.
Lake County Attorney James Lapotka told the court that Salisbury has another domestic assault charge pending in Flathead County.
Judge Molly Owen set a sentencing date of Jan. 4, 2023. Salisbury will likely be credited for having already served 48 days in the Lake County jail.
Brewery looks for more trivia takeovers
By Taylor Davison Valley Journal
RONAN — The Ronan Cooperative Brewery is looking to incorporate more members of the community going into November.
Several local businesses and organizations have taken over trivia in the past few months, from U.S. Fish and Wildlife to Mere’s Magic Universe and Tea. But as things begin to wind down for the winter, the brewery is hoping to see more organizations get in touch to bring their own unique spin to trivia.
“We’ve had great success with local businesses and organizations taking over Tuesday night trivia with their own theme and promoting their business, or just making it a fun night out for their employees,” events coordinator Eric Brunet said. “The nice thing too is that for folks that might not be super computer savvy, or might be intimidated for putting together a PowerPoint presentation for trivia, Michael, our regular trivia guy, has been very generous with offering his assistance.”
As an additional Tuesday treat, this month will see tacos added to some Trivia Tuesday nights by R-Cantina from Ronan High School. Run by high schoolers, all proceeds from the taco sales will go straight to the RHS science program.
Beyond trivia this month, the brewery will be bringing back their popular Paint and Sip night on Sunday, Nov. 20. Mere’s Magic Soup will be reappearing by popular demand on Friday, Nov. 11 as well. And while the brewery will be closed for Thanksgiving, they teamed up with a baker up in Polson at Beach Bunny Bakery to bring a special Thanksgiving pie offer to the folks in Ronan.
Apple crumb, pumpkin ginger, and brown sugar pecan pies will all be available for pick up at the brewery the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 23, for a holiday treat. Those interested can order through Beach Bunny Bakery by calling 406-8807054 or emailing sweettreats406@yahoo.com to get their pies brought down to Ronan.
“She’s an amazing baker, I think people will really like this,” Brunet commented.
To learn more about participating in a trivia takeover, call the brewery at 406676-4677 and leave a message for Eric. To find out about other upcoming events, visit: www.facebook. com/RonanCooperativeBrewery.
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