Page 23 - Flathead Beacon // 5.13.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS MAY 13, 2015 | 23
The Roundup
From Beacon wire and news services
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FLATHEAD
KALISPELL MAN SUSPECTED IN ONLINE THREATS WANTS CHARGES DISMISSED
The attorney for a 28-year-old man charged with making a series of online threats to schools and Jewish leaders has filedamotionaskingthatthechargesbe dismissed.
David Lenio was arrested in Flathead County in February and charged with felony intimidation and criminal defamation for tweets in which he talked about wanting to shoot up schools and synagogues.
Public defender Brent Getty argued last week that the statutes governing both charges are unconstitutionally overbroad. Getty argues the intimidation charge requires the threats to be directed “to an actual person,” but investigators could not find a tweet that names a specific student or school.
The Missoulian reports Getty also argued that Lenio’s comments about Jews were hateful, but the First Amendment protects his right to make such comments.
Ulbricht did not rule on the motions.
BROWNING MAN CONVICTED OF ASSAULT BACK IN COURT ON BAIL JUMPING CHARGES
A 39-year-old Browning man who knocked his girlfriend unconscious in Kalispell last summer was back in court last week after he missed his sentencing hearing.
Calvin Steve Spotted Eagle has been charged with felony bail jumping after failing to appear at his December sentencing hearing. Spotted Eagle pleaded not guilty to the bail jumping charge in Flathead County District Court on May 7.
The initial charge stemmed from an incident last year that resulted in a felony charge of partner or family member assault.
According to court documents, Spot- ted Eagle and his girlfriend of five years were having an argument while walk- ing near downtown in August 2014. As the couple crossed Washington Street, Spotted Eagle began to hit the wom- an and then punched her in the head, knocking her to the ground. The woman hit her head on the pavement and was knocked unconscious. Spotted Eagle then dragged the woman to the side of the road. The woman was later taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
VICTIM OF FATAL MOTORCYCLE CRASH IDENTIFIED
Law enforcement officials released the name of a man who died May 4 after he crashed his motorcycle into a roadside ditch on a county road west of Kalispell.
According to Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry, Daniel Victor Quinones, 57, of Kalispell, died when his dirt bike went off the roadway on Rhodes Draw and landed in a ditch that containedwater.
Rhodes Draw is located about one mile from its intersection with Farm To Market Road.
Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Pat Herman said a witness saw Quinones start to lose control before going into the ditch. He was unresponsive when emergency responders arrived and died at the scene.
Quinones was not wearing a helmet and suffered head trauma, and while early reports suggested it was possible that he was knocked unconscious and drowned, Curry said he died of blunt force trauma to the head.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Montana Highway Patrol.
RIDE GUY DENIES ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS
The proprietor of a late-night Whitefish taxi service has denied allegations that he pepper-sprayed a man in the face earlier this year.
Brian Murchie pleaded not guilty to felony assault with a weapon in Flathead County District Court on May 7.
According to court documents, the Whitefish Police Department received a report of an assault shortly after 1 a.m. on Jan. 24 at the intersection of Railway Street and Central Avenue. When officers arrived, they talked to a man who said he was leaving the Craggy Range Bar and Grill and taking photos of his girlfriend when Murchie grabbed the man, took his phone, forced him to the ground and pepper sprayed him in the face.
Murchie later told officers a different story, saying that the man had threatened him. Officers searched Murchie and found the other man’s cell phone in his pocket.
If convicted of assault with a weapon, Murchie could face up to 20 years in prison and be fined $50,000. He is set to go to trial in October.
The Ride Guy is a nonprofit, late- night ride service that has operated since 2009. The service does not accept money or tips and survives off donations to give people rides home from the downtown area.
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