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BIG SHINDIG
anking...
Larry Emery shows o
b
his 1955 Chevy Nomad
at a pre-party drive in for
Desoto Grill’s Big Shindig
on June 24.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
NEWS
COURT BEAT
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Kalispell Mother Accused of Negligent Homicide to Stand Trial in December
The 23-year-old Kalispell woman accused of negligent homicide in the 2015 death of her 2-year-old son is expected to stand trial in December.
Attorneys on both sides of the case against Takara Kaye Juntunen appeared in Flathead County District Court on June 21 before Judge Heidi Ulbricht for a scheduling conference.
Prosecutor Andrew Clegg told the court he expected the trial to take one to two weeks. It’s set to start on Dec. 12.
In court documents led earlier this month, Clegg accuses Juntunen of being responsible for her son’s death because she failed to seek medical attention for the boy in the days before he died, even though he showed signs of being abused. Juntunen’s boyfriend, Brandon Walter Lee Newberry, was convicted of mit- igated deliberate homicide in Forrest Groshelle’s death earlier this year and was sentenced to 40 years at the Montana State Prison.
Juntunen has also been charged with felony criminal possession of drugs. She pleaded not guilty to both counts on June 16 at an arraignment hearing.
Massachusetts Man Charged With Negligent Homicide in Death of Polson Teen
A Massachusetts man is set to stand trial in October in the shooting death of a 16-year-old Polson girl that happened a year ago this month.
This spring, Johnathan Ross Gray
of Stow, Massachusetts was charged in Sanders County District Court with neg- ligent homicide in the June 2015 death of Aunika Corrigan of Polson. Gray is rep- resented by Kalispell-attorney Thane Johnson and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
According to court documents, Gray met a girl on a social media app in June 2015 and agreed to go shing with her. The girl, later identi ed as Shannon Oak- ley, invited Corrigan to join them and the three met near Dixon. The three people went swimming, shing and later decided to go rattlesnake hunting.
As they were driving along Oliver Gulch Road, the three people noticed a coyote. Gray pulled the vehicle over and went to retrieve his gun in the bed of the truck. As Gray loaded the gun it allegedly mis red, hitting Corrigan in the head. She died at the scene.
If convicted, Gray could face up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 ne.
Flathead County Woman Accused of Assaulting Group Home Resident
A 47-year-old woman has been accused of having sex with the resident of a group home she worked at in Kalispell.
Elaine Marie Cooper pleaded not guilty to felony sexual intercourse with- out consent before Judge Robert Allison in Flathead County District Court on June 23.
According to court documents, a 29-year-old resident of a Flathead Indus- tries group home went to the Kalispell Police Department in April to report that Cooper had sexually assaulted him.
Flathead Industries is a non-pro t that
provides housing and services for people with disabilities. According to court doc- uments, Cooper had a “supervisory” role over the victim.
The victim told police that starting in January, Cooper performed sexual acts on him and had him do the same to her. According to court documents, Cooper told the victim “she received sexual grat- i cation from their encounters.” Deputy County Attorney John Donovan writes that all of the encounters happened at Flathead Industries’ group home.
If convicted, Cooper could face up to 100 years in prison and a $50,000 ne. She is scheduled to go to trial in October.
Couple Denies Killing Nephew in Arlee
A western Montana couple has denied charges that they killed an 18-year-old man in February and continued to live in a trailer for more than two months with his body in the shower, covered with clothing and other items.
KERR-AM reports Stephen and Kas- sandra Seese pleaded not guilty Wednes- day to deliberate homicide in the death of Richard Warner in Arlee. District Judge James Manley set bail at $100,000 each and scheduled a November trial.
Prosecutors say Kassandra Seese told investigators that she and her children were in the trailer when her husband beat Warner to death with a hammer. She said they lived in the trailer until early May before moving to Idaho.
Warner’s body was found on June 2 when two men who had planned to move the trailer noticed the smell of decaying
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JUNE 29, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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