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Charges Dismissed Against Man Shot By Police Prosecutors dropped charges after they received additional evidence from the defense
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BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
Prosecutors have dropped an assault charge against a Kalispell man who was shot ve times by the police in his own living room earlier this year.
Flathead County Deputy Attorney Stacy Boman led the motion to dismiss a charge of felony assault on a peace o - cer against Ryan Pengelly on May 17.
During a status hearing on May 18, Boman said the decision to drop the charges came after Pengelly’s attorney, Peter Leander, presented additional evi- dence to the state about his client’s his- tory and injuries su ered as a soldier in Iraq.
According to court documents, two Kalispell police o cers were dispatched to Pengelly’s home northwest of Kalis- pell on Jan. 12 after receiving a report of a suicidal woman. After talking to the woman, the o cers attempted to get her to go to the hospital with them. When she retreated into the house, one of the o cers grabbed her arm and the woman called for her son.
Pengelly, 30, had been sleeping in a backroom, heard the commotion in the living room and emerged with a loaded ri e. He allegedly pointed the weapon at the two o cers. The o cers told Pengelly
BRIEFS
Lincoln County Man Arrested After Allegedly Hitting Biker Near Rexford
A Lincoln County man was arrested May 9 after allegedly hitting a cyclist with his vehicle near Rexford.
Brian Norvell, 28, was arrested on felony probation violations after he allegedly ran down 21-year-old Luca Johnson, who was biking on Highway 37, according to Lincoln County Sheri Roby Bowe.
Johnson su ered a skull fracture and multiple broken bones and had to be airlifted to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
Bowe said the incident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. According to inter- views and initial evidence, Norvell had allegedly driven by Johnson at least twice before turning his vehicle and hitting the cyclist from behind. Norvell allegedly stopped the vehicle, took Johnson’s wallet and then drove-o . Norvell then allegedly ditched his vehicle on Highway 37. Law enforcement found Norvell soon after and placed him under arrest.
Bowe said the Montana Highway Patrol is leading the investigation into the incident.
Friends and family have been rais- ing money to cover Johnson’s medical bills. For more information, visit www.
to drop the gun and when he did not lower it immediately they opened re, striking him ve times.
Following the shooting, Pengelly was taken to the hospital for surgery and survived. Less than a month after, he was charged with felony assault on a peace o cer. Pengelly pleaded not guilty in Flathead County District Court soon after.
In the weeks since the charge was led, Leander said he presented evidence to prosecutors that showed Pengelly was not given enough time to drop the weapon. He noted that from Pengelly’s perspective in the home, it would have been hard for anyone to quickly identify the two men in his living room as police o cers. He also said that Pengelly’s visual and men- tal reaction time is slower than other peo- ple because of injuries he sustained in an explosion in Iraq in 2008. Pengelly served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan in the U.S. Army and earned several med- als while overseas.
The shooting was investigated by the Flathead County Sheri ’s O ce, per Kalispell Police Department pol- icy. A week later, Sheri Chuck Curry announced that the two o cers – Sgt. Chad Zimmerman and O cer Eric Brinton – acted appropriately and were
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Kalispell Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Assault
A Kalispell man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl less than a year after the Montana Supreme Court overturned a previous assault conviction.
Thomas Richard Nichols pleaded guilty by way of Alford in Flathead County District Court on May 19. An Alford plea occurs when a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution has enough evidence that, if presented to a jury, would likely result in a conviction.
According to court documents, Nich- ols touched a 5-year-old girl in a sexu- ally suggestive manner in late 2015. In December, he was charged with sexual assault.
The charges came a year after the Montana Supreme Court overturned Nichols’ previous sexual assault convic- tion. In early 2010, Nichols, then 20 years old, allegedly touched a 9-year-old girl in a sexual way. He was charged with sexual assault and sexual intercourse without consent and was found guilty of both at trial in December 2011. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
cleared of any wrongdoing.
The day before a pre-trial conference
was scheduled, the state decided to drop the charges without prejudice. Dismiss- ing the charges without prejudice means prosecutors have the option to re- le the charges at a later date.
At the May 18 conference though, Leander made the argument that the charges should be dropped with preju- dice, essentially closing the door to le charges again. Leander also requested that any record of the case be expunged.
“This case needs to end with a period, not a question mark,” Leander said.
Judge Amy Eddy agreed to dismiss the charges with prejudice and said she would review the request to expunge the case from Pengelly’s record.
After the hearing, Pengelly told reporters that he had no ill will toward law enforcement and that he just wanted to move forward with his life. He said he and his family plan on leaving the Flat- head Valley in the coming months.
Since the shooting, Pengelly has had multiplesurgeriesandanotherissched- uled in the coming weeks to remove bul- let shrapnel that is still in his back.
“I’m glad it’s all done and that I can move on with my life now,” he said.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
In early 2015, the Montana Supreme Court overturned his conviction argu- ing that jurors had heard unfairly preju- dicial testimony during the trial, specif- ically about Nichols’ past sexual habits.
Soon after the conviction was over- turned, the Flathead County Attorney’s O ce again led charges against Nichols. In June 2015, he took a deal and pleaded no contest to an amended charge of fel- ony criminal endangerment. The second count, sexual intercourse without con- sent, was dropped and Nichols was given a 10-year suspended sentence to the Mon- tana State Prison.
On May 19, Nichols agreed to plead guilty by way of Alford to sexual assault. In the plea agreement, prosecutors and the defense recommend Judge Heidi Ulbricht sentence Nichols to 50 years in the Montana State Prison with 25 years suspended. He will not be eligible for parole until he completes sexual o ender treatment courses in prison. The 10-year suspended sentence stemming from the 2010 incident has also been revoked and will run consecutive to the sentence Ulbricht will hand down at a hearing scheduled for July 21.
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MAY 25, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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