A 49-year-old Bigfork man charged with fatally injuring a motorcyclist on Sept. 2 following a vehicle collision north of Somers pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a felony charge of vehicular homicide while under the influence.
Apollo Tomas Guisto entered the plea during a Sept. 13 arraignment hearing in Flathead County District Court before Judge Heidi Ulbricht. The defendant also posted a $250,000 bond and he was released from Flathead County Detention Center the same day.
According to an affidavit filed by Flathead Deputy County Attorney Stacy Boman, a witness told a Montana Highway Patrol trooper that Guisto ran a stop sign while traveling north bound in his Toyota Sequoia and struck a motorcycle, which became stuck under the left side of the SUV, at the intersection of Somers Road and MT Highway 82.
The motorcycle driver was later identified as Jason Catron, who died at the scene.
After the Montana Highway Patrol trooper observed signs of alcohol intoxication, Guisto eventually supplied a blood sample after authorities were granted a search warrant. He said that as he was traveling to his home in Bigfork from a Somers bar, he stopped at the stop sign at the Somers Road and Highway 82 intersection before a motorcyclist struck him.
According to Guisto’s conditions of release, he must wear a SCRAM alcohol ankle monitor device.
Guisto is scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 17. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in the Montana State Prison and/or a fine of $50,000.
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