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Evergreen Woman Convicted of Murdbanking
Could Be Released on Parole
Justine Winter must complete pre-release program in Billings
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BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
An Evergreen woman convicted of deliberate homicide after killing two peo- ple in a 2009 car crash could be released on parole before the end of the year.
On Sept. 21, the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole granted Justine Winter, 22, parole upon completion of a pre-release program in Billings. Accord- ing to board executive director Timothy Allred, Winter has been in the program since December 2014. She spent the first six months as an inmate worker and is now living at a pre-release center in Bill- ings. At the pre-release center, Winter has been able to get a job and go into the public.
“(A pre-release center) helps people transition back into the community,” he said.
Now that the board has approved Win- ter’s eventual release, she will work with a case manager to create a plan for future housing and employment. A parole offi- cer must approve the plan before she is released.
Winter was 16 years old in March 2009 when she got into a fight with her boy- friend and later that night deliberately
BRIEFS
Man Who Killed Somers Teacher Charged with Drug Possession
A Kalispell man who was convicted of vehicular homicide after killing a popular Somers Middle School teacher in 2006 has been arrested on drug charges.
Jason DeShazer, 32, made an ini- tial appearance in Lake County Justice Court on Sept. 14 on charges of criminal possession of drugs and criminal posses- sion of drug paraphernalia.
He is being held on $10,000 bond and will only be able to leave jail if he agrees to wear a drug-monitoring patch. The case will be transferred to district court this week and a date for arraignment will be set.
On Oct. 26, 2006, DeShazer was drunk behind the wheel of a vehicle when he crossed the centerline on Montana Highway 82 near the Flathead Water- fowl Production Area and crashed head on into a Subaru driven by Dawn Bowker, according to court documents and news reports. Bowker, a sixth grade teacher at Somers Middle School, died in the crash. DeShazer pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in 2007 and was sentenced to
Justine Winter sits with her attorney on her first day of trial in 2010. BEACON FILE PHOTO
drove her car across the centerline of U.S. Highway 93 north of Kalispell, crashing into another vehicle, driven by 35-year- old Erin Thompson, who was pregnant at the time. Thompson and her son, 13-year- old Caden Odell, were both killed in the crash. In February 2011, Winter was
20 years with the Montana State Prison with 10 years suspended. DeShazer was later released on parole.
Judge Drops 1 of 2 Charges in Online Threats Case
A man suspected of making online threats to schools and religious leaders is facing one less charge.
Flathead County District Judge Heidi J. Ulbricht on Sept. 15 dropped a crimi- nal defamation charge against 28-year- old David Joseph Lenio.
Authorities say the threats were made in February when Lenio engaged in a Twitter exchange with Jonathan Huston, spokesman for the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Defense attorney Brent Getty filed a motion in May saying the felonies should be dropped partially because they were overbroad. He argued there was no victim.
Ulbricht wrote in her opinion that Lenio may have said he’s glad his posts led to more active law enforcement in schools, making it possible that he intended his statements to influence oth- ers to act.
found guilty of two counts of deliberate homicide. She was later given two, con- current 30-year sentences with 15 years suspended on each.
Winter first applied for parole in 2014 but the board denied her request.
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Polson Man Pleads Guilty in Death of Father-in-Law
A 37-year-old Polson man has pleaded guilty to mitigated deliberate homicide for killing his father-in-law by hitting him in the head with a hammer.
KERR-AM reports last week’s plea is the second time Desmond Mackay pleaded guilty to mistakenly hitting 67-year-old John Barrows in March 2014, causing fatal injuries.
Mackay withdrew his plea in June after District Judge Kim Christopher said she couldn’t accept the plea agree- ment that reduced the charge to miti- gated deliberate homicide and recom- mended 40 years in prison.
Mackay has said he had been bullied by his brother-in-law and was waiting behind a door to hit him when Barrows walked in instead.
Lake County Attorney Steve Eschen- bacher cited prosecutorial discretion in his decision to amend the charge.
Christopher scheduled sentencing for
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SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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