POLSON — A weekly newspaper editor in northwestern Montana has denied charges that he interfered with a Montana Highway Patrol investigation while taking photographs of a two-vehicle crash south of Polson.
Vince Lovato of the Lake County Leader appeared in Justice Court in Lake County on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanors — obstructing a peace officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Tony Isbell cited Lovato on Oct. 1 for disobeying a lawful command inside a crime scene boundary, screaming obscenities while being arrested and pulling away from arresting officers.
Lovato’s attorney, Mike Meloy of Helena, declined to comment when a reporter with the Missoulian (http://bit.ly/1Cnopjn) asked if law enforcement officers had established a boundary around the crash site that made it clear where authorized personnel were not allowed.