Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 10.12.16

NEWS
COURT BEAT
Flathead County Man Convicted of Assault Denies Intimidating O cials Convicted of sexual assault in 1995, Dale Michael Hanson allegedly threatened 18 individuals, including judges
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
A Flathead County man convicted of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old boy in the 1990s has denied alle- gations that he sent letters to law enforcement o cials threating to kill the people who put him behind bars.
Dale Michael Hanson served 10 years in prison after he was convicted in 1995 of sexual assault and deviant sexual conduct, but maintained his innocence for more than two decades. Since his release in 2005, Hanson has refused to register as a sex o ender.
Earlier this year, Hanson allegedly sent letters to the U.S. Marshals Service in Missoula and the Flathead County Sheri ’s O ce in Kalispell stating he was going to “start killing people to get public attention” and “have my revenge” for his conviction. Hanson’s letter listed multiple Flathead County employees, attorneys and judges as people he wanted killed.
Hanson was arrested in August on charges of failure to register as a sexual o ender and intimidation, both felonies. Hanson pleaded not guilty to both charges at an arraignment in Flathead County District Court on Oct. 6 before Judge Heidi Ulbricht.
During the hearing, Hanson was subdued and only brie y spoke with his attorney, Sean Hinchey.
Hanson is set to go to trial in January 2017. According to court documents, Hanson forced his girlfriend’s young son to touch his genitals and perform oral sex on him in 1991 and 1992. A jury found Hanson guilty in March 1995 and in July of that year he was sen- tenced to 20 years in the Montana State Prison with 10
Dale Hanson appears in Flathead County District Court on Oct. 6.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
Four years after his release in 2005, local law enforce- ment discovered that Hanson, who had moved back to Flathead County, had never registered as a sexual o ender. In September 2009, Deputy Flathead County Attorney Lori Adams led felony charges of failure to register as a sexual o ender against Hanson.
In 2015, Hanson led a petition for post-conviction relief with the Montana Supreme Court where he con- tinued to insist that he was innocent. Hanson, who was represented by attorneys from the Montana Innocence Project, argued that prosecutors suppressed evidence that was favorable to Hanson during the 1995 trial. The motion also stated that the detective leading up the case against Hanson had interfered with witnesses who wanted to testify on Hanson’s behalf. The Montana Supreme Court was not convinced and dismissed Han- son’s motion earlier this year.
In early August, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Flathead County Sheri ’s O ce received multiple threatening letters from Hanson stating he was inform- ing the agencies “that there are going to be a bunch of dead people if your agency does not intervene on my behalf,” charging records state. In the letter to the Mar- shals Service, Hanson allegedly explained that he had been ghting the “Nazi bastards of Flathead County Montana” for 22 years for crimes he did not commit.
“There are going to be some dead people over this [expletive] up mess if they are not held accountable!” Hanson allegedly wrote. “That you can take to the bank.”
Hanson also allegedly wrote that he would have “revenge” before listing 18 individuals who have lived in Flathead County in the past, including the victim in the 1995 case, according to records.
In the letter to the Marshals Service, Hanson said he would wait a few weeks for law enforcement to intervene on his behalf before “starting the chaos and mayhem to see justice done myself vigilante style,” records state.
Hanson wrote similar statements in the letter to Flat- head County Sheri Chuck Curry.
“When they send their Nazi bootjack death squad after me, it will be to execute me,” Hanson allegedly wrote. “All I need is to see them and I’ll be pumping as much lead at them as I can before they kill me, and I will make them kill me! I’ll take as many of them with me as I can. They may take my life, but they’ll never take my freedom again!”
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
people who invested in Big Sky Mineral Resources, the Missoulian reported.
Court and county records indicate BSMR bought the oil and gas leases in Lewis and Clark County for $450,000 in August 2014, when oil prices were double the current rate.
District Judge Robert Allison contin- ued the freeze on Moore’s accounts and encouraged the state auditor’s o ce to work with Moore and Hinchey to “make sure investors are paid o , and some future investor isn’t ripped o ” with the sale.
No criminal charges have been led in the current case.
U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican from White sh, said he is donating all contributions his campaign has received from Moore to the Flathead Food Bank. The Missoulian rst reported that Moore appears to have donated $5,100 to Zin- ke’s campaign during the 2014 general election using two di erent names and occupations but the same Bigfork mail- ing address.
Heather Swift, a spokesperson for Zinke, said Zinke was unaware of Moore’s transgressions and had taken photos with Moore without knowing the allegations against him.
news@ atheadbeacon.com
years suspended.
BRIEFS
Libby Man Charged With Homicide
A 42-year-old man has been charged with deliberate homicide following the death of a Libby woman this week.
Trevor Mercier of Libby was arrested on Oct. 7 in connection to the death of 30-year-old Sheena Devine who was found dead at a home on Oct. 6.
Lincoln County Dispatch received a call at about 10 a.m. on Oct. 6 from someone who believed a friend had been assaulted sometime during the night. The Libby Volunteer Ambulance and Libby Police Department responded to a home in Libby soon after where they found Devine’s body.
The Lincoln County Sheri said the death was still being investigated and that more details would be released later.
Sheri Investigating ‘Suspicious’ Kila Shooting
Law enforcement is investigating a suspicious shooting in Kila that sent an 18-year-old Kalispell woman to the hospital.
According to Flathead County Sheri Chuck Curry, law enforcement received a report of a shooting in Kila at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6. Upon arriving at the scene, they found an 18-year-old woman who had been shot in the abdomen.
The woman was transported to
Kalispell Regional Medical Center for surgery before being sent to a hospital in Seattle where she remains in critical condition.
Curry said at this time it’s unclear if the wound was self-in icted or caused by someone else.
The shooting is under investigation.
Mineral County Escapee Tries to Escape From Flathead Jail
A 27-year-old inmate tried to escape from the Flathead County Detention Center on Oct. 6, a week after he was arrested for escaping from the Mineral County jail.
According to Flathead County Sheri Chuck Curry, Zachary James Bergman of Kalispell attempted to escape from his cell by kicking through a ceiling shortly before 10 p.m. Bergman successfully busted through the top of his cell but was unable to go any further due to security features in the building. Detention cen- ter sta found Bergman soon after in the ceiling.
The failed escape came a week after he was arrested near downtown Kalis- pell after escaping the Mineral County jail where he was arrested for allegedly stealing an automobile.
Bergman will be facing additional charges for the failed escape.
Judge Continues Freeze on Bigfork Businessman’s Accounts
A judge has continued his order to freeze the bank accounts of a Bigfork busi- nessman suspected of securities fraud.
Deputy Securities Commissioner Lynne Egan testi ed during a show- cause hearing on Oct. 4 that John “Kevin” Moore collected $2.7 million from 36 investors and made payments to earlier investors with funds from later inves- tors. Records suggest he spent about $1.4 million himself, including withdraw- ing nearly $800,000 in cash and spend- ing more than $400,000 on mortgage and escrow payments for two homes in Bigfork.
Janet Walters of Lakeside testi ed that she invested $83,500 with Moore, who gave her three gold coins and a small amount of cash for interest payments, but that she never recovered her initial investments.
Testimony also indicated that $78,000 that Moore purportedly raised for a Wounded Warrior program was with- drawn from a bank account soon after it was deposited, with no accounting of what happened to it.
Attorney Shawn Hinchey argued that continuing to freeze the accounts could jeopardize a possible sale of oil and gas leases that could help Moore repay the
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OCTOBER 12, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM