Page 23 - Flathead Beacon // 6.3.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS JUNE 3, 2015 | 23 The Roundup
From Beacon wire and news services
A SENSORY SNEAK ATTACK.
FLATHEAD
MAN WHO PUNCHED WHITEFISH POLICE CHIEF SENTENCED
The Kalispell man who punched Whitefish’s police chief in the face on Halloween night has been sentenced to the Department of Corrections after pleading no contest to charges of assault on a peace officer.
Caleb Buzzell was sentenced to 15 years to the DOC with 10 years suspend- ed, during a hearing in Flathead County District Court on May 28, seven months after he assaulted Chief Bill Dial.
Buzzell, who was previously convict- ed of assault on a peace officer in 2013 when he struck a Flathead County sher- iff’s deputy, will also have to pay more than $6,900 in restitution to cover the chief’s medical bills.
During the sentencing hearing, Buz- zell said he was sorry for what happened. “I apologize for my actions that night, to both my family and the officer,”
he said.
According to Dial and court docu-
ments, on Oct. 31, 2014 the Whitefish Po- lice Department received a report of an intoxicated man stumbling in the mid- dle of Spokane Avenue and jumping out of brush and scaring children who were trick or treating.
Dial was the closest officer and re- sponded, finding Buzzell stumbling near the First Interstate Bank and yell- ing at passing cars and pedestrians. The suspect became agitated when Dial ap- proached.
“I just wanted to know who he was so I could give him a ride home but then things escalated,” Dial said.
When Buzzell continued to scream and yell obscenities at people, Dial said he decided to use a Taser to subdue him and place him under arrest. But the Tas- er was ineffective because Buzzell was wearing a heavy coat. Dial said he then tried to physically subdue the suspect, but Buzzell punched the police chief two or three times in the face, resulting in a broken nose, two black eyes and a few cuts.
Upon seeing Buzzell punching the police chief, two onlookers ran over and helped subdue the man until another officer arrived. Buzzell was placed un- der arrest and charged with assault on a peace officer.
FLATHEAD COUNTY MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER
A Flathead County man has denied stabbing another man in the parking lot of a Kalispell casino on U.S. Highway 2 West last month.
Justin Michael Gallery pleaded not
guilty to charges of attempted deliberate homicide in Flathead County District Court on May 28. Gallery was initially charged with assault with a weapon, but county prosecutors amended the charg- es to attempted deliberate homicide.
According to court documents, Gal- lery’s girlfriend was at the casino on May 9 and got into an argument with anoth- er patron. After the argument, Gallery broke the windows of the man’s van and then stabbed him multiple times. When police arrived at roughly 12:30 a.m., they found the man laying in the parking lot with wounds in his right arm, both legs and buttocks. According to court docu- ments, the wounds were “bleeding pro- fusely” and police officers applied a tour- niquet that stopped the bleeding. The man was transported to Kalispell Re- gional Medical Center.
Gallery is expected to go to trial in August. If convicted, Gallery could be sentenced to no less than 10 years or no more than 100 years in prison.
WHITEFISH MAN ACCUSED OF ARSON ASKS TO WITHDRAW PLEA
A Whitefish man accused of setting his ex-girlfriend’s house on fire asked to withdraw his no contest plea because his attorney said a district court judge dis- played bias during a sentencing hearing earlier this year.
James Wallace Langley, 35, was chargedwithfelonyarsonafterDNAev- idence connected him to the scene of an October 2013 house fire.
In January, defense attorney Jack Quatman and prosecutors crafted a deal where Langley would enter a plea of no contest and the state would recommend a six-year deffered sentence. Langley en- tered his plea in front of Judge Robert Allison on Jan. 22. A no contest plea is entered when defendants acknowledge that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them but still maintain that they are innocent.
At a sentencing hearing, Judge Al- lison told Langley and his attorney that he would not be following the plea agree- ment because of the seriousness of the crime. Allison said he would give the de- fendant more time to come up with testi- mony as to why he should be given a de- ferred sentence and the sentencing was postponed. On April 20, Langley filed a motion to withdraw his plea.
In May, Deputy County Attorney Ali- son Howard filed a motion arguing that Langley knowingly entered his no con- test plea and that the court should deny the motion to withdraw.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 27 but it was continued until the judge could make a ruling on Langley’s motion.
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