Updated at 11:02am 02/06/12
Missoula man charged with promoting prostitution
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A 36-year-old Spokane, Wash., man charged with using a website to advertise a prostitution business with encounters at a Missoula motel is jailed on $250,000 bail.
Clifton Ray Dwayne Oliver was arrested by Missoula police on Thursday. He appeared before Justice of the Peace John Odlin on Friday on a felony charge of promoting prostitution. Prosecutors say Oliver has previous convictions for prostitution-related offenses.
The investigation began when a motel employee called police when she thought she saw Oliver and a woman smoking drugs in a car outside the motel. The employee told officers Oliver asked at least one male guest if he was interested in having sex with a prostitute.
Police also arrested Alida Lattimore, who is charged with misdemeanor prostitution.
Columbia Falls couple denies assaulting toddler
KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — A Columbia Falls couple has denied charges that they abused the woman's 16-month-old daughter.
The Daily Inter Lake (http://bit.ly/x26Qjw ) reports 20-year-old Samantha French and her fiance, 19-year-old Nickolas Fox, pleaded not guilty Thursday in District Court to felony assault on a minor.
Court records say the child's father picked her up on Dec. 17 from French and noticed bruising on her face. The child later began vomiting and he took her to the hospital, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit.
Hospital records showed that the child had bruises on her face and hand, retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes and bleeding in the brain caused by traumatic brain injury.
French told investigators she grabbed the girl's face really hard when she wouldn't take a bottle. She has relinquished her parental rights.
Montana man fined $1K for instigating police chase
BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — A Butte man who told officers he instigated a police chase because he always wanted to try it, found out it'll cost him a $1,000 fine to go with his tire damage.
The Montana Standard in Butte reports (http://bit.ly/xZW1B4) 55-year-old John C. Hughes pleaded guilty Thursday in City Court to reckless driving while eluding a peace officer.
The chase began in the pre-dawn hours Thursday when officers reported a man followed a patrol car for seven blocks before pulling his SUV around and taking off at speeds of up to 70 mph. Officers say Hughes was traveling faster than 100 mph on the interstate before officers laid out a spike strip to flatten his tires.
When asked why he started the chase, Hughes said, "I just always wanted to do that," according to the police report.
2 men arrested after firearm discharged in Butte
BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Two men are jailed in Butte after a gun was discharged in a residence near Montana Tech, prompting a warning to students.
Dispatchers received a 911 call reporting gunshots at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Officers also heard what sounded like gunshots as they approached and saw the lights go out in one of the residences.
The occupants wouldn't open the door for police, so the SWAT team was called and officers forced their way into the house.
Sheriff John Walsh tells The Montana Standard (http://bit.ly/AzuZkl) two intoxicated men in the house were arrested.
Montana Tech students received a text message at 1:30 a.m. warning them about a gunman near campus and advising them to stay inside or avoid campus. Five hours later, they received a text telling them the situation was over.
Crashed plane removed from Kalispell house
KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — A single-engine airplane that crashed into a Kalispell house shortly after takeoff was removed from the structure on Sunday and will be taken to a shop for inspection by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Kalispell Fire Department Chief Dave Dedman says the department has turned the house back over to the homeowner, who planned to have a company close up the hole in the wall and restore his electricity and natural gas services. Officials estimated damages to the house at about $50,000.
The three people and two dogs on the Piper PA28 airplane were not injured in the crash Saturday afternoon. The homeowner also escaped injury.
An FAA website says the airplane is registered to Michael V. Seaman of Kalispell.
Self-defense products popular in ND oil patch
DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) — Self-defense products are becoming a hot item among women in western North Dakota's booming oil patch.
Dickinson pawn shop manager Raymond Gentry tells The Dickinson Press that he can't keep items such as pepper spray and stun guns on the shelves. He says handguns that a year ago would stay in a display case for two months are now snatched up in two days.
Gentry and other business operators say sales went up when the region's population started increasing and have spiked with the arrest of two men in the recent disappearance of Montana high school teacher Sherry Arnold, who is presumed dead.
Watford City Police Chief Slade Herfindahl tells The Bismarck Tribune that he's seen an increase in the number of women applying for concealed weapons permits.
Billings to consider medical marijuana ordinance
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Billings City Council has voted 10-0 to consider a six-month emergency ordinance that could prevent new medical marijuana shops from opening in the city.
Billings has issued 70 business licenses for medical marijuana providers.
The ordinance discussed Monday could ban new medical marijuana businesses throughout the city or push them into certain areas. Existing marijuana businesses would not be affected by the proposed moratorium, which will be considered May 10.
Several cities across the state have placed a moratorium on medical marijuana businesses while leaders decide zoning issues.
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Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com
HATCHERY CLEANUP
Monsanto to pay $5M for PCB cleanup
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — Biotech company Monsanto has agreed to pay $5 million toward the cost of cleaning up PCB contamination in Big Spring Creek near Lewistown.
The state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks was seeking $10.5 million to clean up paint chips containing PCBs that washed out of the raceways at the Big Spring Creek fish hatchery.
A trial seeking damages started last week in District Court in Fergus County. Torger Oaas, attorney for the state and landowners, says the $5 million settlement was reached Monday morning.
Monsanto Co. was once a leading U.S. manufacturer of PCBs, which were banned in 1979 due to their toxicity.
In 2008, Monsanto reached a nearly $5 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by landowners over loss of property value due to the contamination.
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Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com
BORDER CROSSING
$5.8M awarded to rebuild Del Bonita border post
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana construction company has a $5.8 million contract to rebuild the Port of Del Bonita checkpoint at the Canadian border.
Sen. Jon Tester's office announced the contract with Browning-based Willow Creek Construction on Monday, saying the project would create between 40 and 50 jobs.
The border crossing is north of Browning on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Details of the rebuilding project were not immediately available.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials did not immediately return a call Monday.
The federal government announced in August it was handing out some $720 million for border upgrades, including $77 million to rebuild or repair five Montana ports of entry.
SHERIFF-NO CONFIDENCE
Flathead deputies vote "no confidence" in sheriff
KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — The Flathead County Sheriff's Deputies Union has passed a "no confidence" vote in Sheriff Mike Meehan.
Union president Dave Kauffman said Friday that 74 percent of the union's members said they had "no confidence" in Meehan's leadership.
Kauffman says the union wants its decision to send a message to Flathead County voters as the primary election approaches.
The union says its most serious concerns about Meehan focus on the use of money for overtime and training, discipline issues and what the union says is a lack of leadership.
Meehan says leadership means making decisions that are not always popular, but he says he will continue to run his office taxpayers being his main consideration.
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Information from: KCFW-TV, http://www.kcfw.com
BOZEMAN SHOOTING
Manhattan man accused of shooting at woman
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — A 57-year-old Manhattan man is being held on $100,000 bail for allegedly shooting at a woman outside his home with a six-shot .22-caliber revolver, missing her by only inches.
David E. Rasmussen was arrested Sunday evening after a neighbor called 911.
Court records say Rasmussen and the woman were arguing on the front porch when, after he jabbed her in the chin with his index and middle fingers, the woman went and sat on a log about 35 feet away.
Rasmussen is accused of shooting at the woman at least twice and telling her that if she called police, "she would be the first to die." Authorities say they found one bullet about 8 inches away from where the woman was sitting.
She says in court documents that she knew Rasmussen "was a good shot and felt that if he truly intended to shoot her, he would not have missed."
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Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com
SEELEY LAKE FATAL-CHARGES
Man charged in bicycle fatality near Seeley Lake
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A 23-year-old Seeley Lake man faces charges for a hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist last summer on Highway 83 near Seeley Lake.
Cody Bartlett faces felony charges of failing to stop at the scene where a person was killed or seriously injured and tampering with physical evidence, along with misdemeanor charges of careless driving, failure to quickly notify law enforcement of an accident and obstructing a peace officer.
Bartlett is charged in the June 25, 2009 death of 18-year-old Rodney "Jake" Loudon of Seeley Lake.
Court records say Bartlett had consumed two beers and two rum and Cokes and was driving near the center line trying to adjust his radio when he struck what he says he thought was a deer.
Loudon's body was found on the side of the road the next day.
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Information from: Missoulian, http://www.missoulian.com
DUI COURSES
Montana alters DUI courses
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Training has begun on a new program meant to reduce drunken driving in Montana by reducing offenders' risky behaviors.
The curriculum called PRIME for Life will change the courses offenders go through and will lengthen the duration of their court-appointed treatment.
Those convicted of DUI currently must attend eight hours of courses. The new program will increase that time to at least 12 hours and possibly up 20 hours for repeat offenders.
It also is meant to be a therapeutic program that helps offenders understand what has led them to drug and alcohol abuse and works on understanding the risks that come with that misuse. The classes in place now try to reinforce an understanding of the consequences of a DUI conviction and to interrupt offenders' cycles of driving while impaired.
The state Department of Public Health and Human Services wants to implement the change by September.