Man’s Assault Charge Reduced to Disturbing the Peace, Fine
Documents show the Lewis and Clark County Attorney received a letter from the Attorney General’s Office asking him to deliver them all the files in the case
By Associated Press
HELENA – The Montana Attorney General’s Office has reached a plea agreement with a Helena man who was charged with felony assault and carrying a concealed weapon, reducing the charges to disturbing the peace and setting a $50 fine.
Rodney Robert Smith, 45, was charged in November 2020 after he allegedly hit restaurant employees and showed that he had a holstered firearm after workers asked him to comply with the statewide mask mandate or leave. Smith did not have a concealed weapons permit and, at the time, it was illegal to carry a concealed weapon in a place where alcoholic beverages are consumed.
Witnesses told Helena police that Smith knocked over several glasses of water, shoved one employee and pinned another one against a wall.
“The defendant then exposed a concealed handgun on his belt, patted the firearm, and made a statement to the effect of, ‘I’m going to get you,’” court documents state.
Smith’s attorney, Palmer Hoovestal, said in August that they had witnesses who would testify that the restaurant’s manager initiated the altercation and put Smith in a headlock.
Documents obtained by the Montana State News Bureau show Lewis and Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher received a letter from the Attorney General’s Office in July asking Gallagher to deliver them all the files in Smith’s case. After reviewing the case, general counsel Derek Oestreicher said the Attorney General’s Office would not prosecute the case, and directed Gallagher to dismiss the concealed-carry charges.
Gallagher responded that there was probable cause to move forward and he could “not in good conscience move to dismiss those counts and comply with my oath of office.” He then asked the Attorney General’s Office to take over the case.
Smith signed the plea agreement on Nov. 8 and Oestreicher signed it on Wednesday, when it was filed in state District Court. Smith’s attorney filed a motion to set a change of plea hearing.
Earlier this year, Montana’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law making it legal for people to carry concealed firearms for self defense without permits in the same places where people can openly carry guns. Knudsen, a Republican, testified in favor of the bill.
Hoovestal said the change in the law could be the basis for a motion to acquit Smith of the concealed carry charges. Hoovestal said he did not know how the Attorney General’s Office got involved in the case.