Page 15 - Flathead Beacon // 6.15.16

NEWS
COURT BEAT
community
banking partner
IDAHO STREET BANK
233 E Idaho St. Kalispell, MT 59901 755-4271
MERIDIAN ROAD BANK
552 N Meridian Rd. Kalispell, MT 59901 755-5432
www.ThreeRiversBankMontana.com
A Locally Owned, Independent Community Bank Since 1974
Montana Man Involved in Oregon Stando
your
Released Awaiting Trial
Jake Ryan was released to his parents’ custody earlier this month
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
The Montana man accused of taking
part in the armed occupation of an Ore- gon wildlife refuge earlier this year has been released into his parents’ custody in Plains while awaiting trial.
Jake Edward Ryan is restricted from traveling outside of Plains and must not leave his parents’ house between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. He is scheduled to stand trial in federal court in Portland, Oregon, in September.
Ryan, 25, is accused of disturbing a sacred burial site by digging latrines for protestors at the Malheur National Wild- life Refuge during a month-long stando with federal agents earlier this year. Ryan was the 26th person charged publicly following the armed stando . He faces charges of conspiracy to impede o cers of the United States, possession of re- arms and dangerous weapons in a federal facility and depredation of government
BRIEFS
Washington Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting Marijuana on Amtrak
A Washington man has admitted to trying to transport marijuana from Seat- tle to Wisconsin aboard Amtrak.
Marquise Constantino pleaded guilty to felony criminal possession of drugs with intent to distribute in Flathead County District Court in March and will be sentenced on June 30.
According to court records, on June 6, 2014, Constantino called Amtrak and said that he had missed his train in Seat- tle but that his luggage was onboard the eastbound Empire Builder. He requested that the bags be dropped o at White sh and that he would come the next day to retrieve them. When the train arrived in White sh, an Amtrak employee grabbed the luggage and smelled marijuana. The train’s conductor was informed and the police were called.
O cers found 12 bags of marijuana weighing one pound each in the suitcases and four jars of hashish. A Northwest Montana Drug Task Force agent received a search warrant and took custody of the marijuana.
The following day, Constantino arrived to claim his bags. He showed an Amtrak employee his identi cation and described the missing bags. Police then moved in to arrest him. Constantino told police that a man from Wisconsin was paying him to move drugs and that he had made more than 20 such trips on Amtrak in the last two years.
property.
The group that took over the wild-
life refuge was protesting federal land restrictions and the imprisonment of two local ranchers who were convicted of burning government grasslands.
In March, an arrest warrant was issued for Ryan’s arrest and many believed he was hiding out in Sanders County. Soon after, Ryan’s family issued a statement on social media stating that the man would not turn himself in and that “the arrests stop here.” The family’s position had local law enforcement worried that anti-gov- ernment protestors would converge on Sanders County; Sheri Tom Rummel urged Ryan’s supporters to stay put, say- ing their arrival would only “complicate” matters.
In April, authorities found Ryan sleep- ing in a stranger’s shed in Clark County, Washington. When he was discovered he had a loaded .45-caliber handgun and several knives, according to the
According to a plea agreement, the state will recommend an eight-year sus- pended sentence to the Department of Corrections. The defense will recom- mend a six-year deferred sentence.
Martin City Man Admits to Stealing Two-Dozen Weapons
A Martin City man pleaded guilty to felony theft ve months after he stole nearly two-dozen guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition last year from a Kila home.
Tucker Mathis appeared in Flathead County District Court on May 24 at a change of plea hearing. He will be sen- tenced on July 14.
According to court records, a plow truck driver reported that a home in Kila appeared to have been broken into on Dec. 19. When law enforcement arrived they found that the home and two outbuildings were ransacked. Authorities contacted the homeowner who was out of town but later returned to determine what was sto- len. The homeowner reported that nearly 24 rearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition were missing. Authorities later identi ed Mathis as a suspect and interviewed him on Dec. 23. According to court records, Mathis admitted to mak- ing at least three trips to the house to steal guns and ammunition.
Associated Press.
Ryan was booked in a Portland jail and
pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Since then, his public defender has argued that Ryan should be released because he was not violent. Federal pros- ecutors disagreed, and stated that he was a ight risk.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Papek decided to release Ryan on June 2. Under the conditions of release, Ryan must remain in Plains and cannot leave the community without receiving permis- sion from U.S. Pretrial Services. He must nd and maintain gainful employment and cannot have access to weapons. Ryan must wear a location monitoring device at all times and he cannot have any con- tract with people involved with the Mal- heur National Wildlife Refuge occupa- tion or others in the “Patriot Movement.”
Ryan and the other defendants are expected to go to trial starting Sept. 7.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
Suspect Arrested in Beating Death of 18-year-old Arlee Man
A western Montana woman says her family lived in a trailer for more than two months with the body of her husband’s 18-year-old cousin in the shower, covered with clothing and furniture, according to court documents.
Kassandra Seese told Lake County investigators that she and her two chil- dren were in the trailer near Arlee on Feb. 17 when her husband beat Richard War- ner with a hammer for apparently lying to him, court records said.
She said they put the body in the shower and continued to live in the trailer until early May, when they moved to Idaho, County Attorney Steven Eschenbacher wrote in seeking the warrants charging the couple with deliberate homicide.
Warner’s body was discovered on June 2 by two men who had planned to move the trailer before noticing the “dis- tinctive, rancid smell of decaying esh,” Eschenbacher wrote.
Stephen W.L. Seese, 25, was jailed in Wallace, Idaho, on a probation violation when he was arrested last week in War- ner’s death, KERR-AM reported. Seese has waived extradition to Montana, Sher- i Don Bell said Thursday.
Kassandra Seese, 23, was arrested at her mother’s house in Springdale, Wash- ington, Bell said. She has not appeared in court.
www.ThreeRiversBankMontana.com
news@ atheadbeacon.com
JUNE 15, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
15