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Trial Set for Man Who Made Threats on Twitter David Lenio scheduled to appear in court after Jan. 19
your
holiday season be filled with
BY BEACON STAFF
The Kalispell man who allegedly threatened to shoot up a school and assassinate local Jewish leaders is set to go to trial in late January.
David Lenio’s attorney and county prosecutors met for a pre-trial confer- ence on Dec. 2. Public Defender Brent Getty said the trial would take up to ve days and will start sometime after Jan.
19.Lenio was originally supposed to go to trial in November but just days before it was supposed to start, Getty led a motion to continue. In it, Getty wrote a plea deal was in the works and that it was possible that a trial could be averted.
The motion prompted speculation that the felony intimidation charge against Lenio could be reduced to a misde- meanor or a deferred prosecution. Soon after, a small protest was held outside of the Flathead County Justice Center and an online petition urged County Attor- ney Ed Corrigan to take the case to trial. Since then, the likelihood of a plea deal has faded.
BRIEFS
Clinic Vandal Granted More Time For Appeal
For the third time in four months, attorneys for the man who broke into and destroyed a Kalispell health clinic have asked for additional time to le a formal appeal with the Montana Supreme Court.
Zachary Klundt led the notice on July 22, more than a month after he received a 20-year sentence with 15 years sus- pended for vandalizing All Families Healthcare in 2014. The crime made regional headlines because the clinic was the only one in the Flathead Valley that o ered abortions.
In March 2014, Klundt broke into the clinic and destroyed nearly everything in sight. He was arrested a few days later and charged with burglary, crimi- nal mischief and theft. Earlier this year, Klundt pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced in June. At the three-day hearing, Klundt’s attorney tried to con- vince the judge that his client was drunk and looking for drugs when he broke into the clinic. But prosecutors argued it was politically motivated. Klundt’s mother, Twyla Klundt, was on the board of Hope Pregnancy Ministries, a local Christian group that opposes abortion.
Once Klundt led for an appeal he had a month to present an opening brief but the public defenders representing him have led for three separate extensions since then. On Dec. 3, a Supreme Court judge granted another extension and Klundt’s attorneys now have until Jan.
May your
David Joseph Lenio, center, appears in Flathead County District Court. BEACON FILE PHOTO
Lenio was arrested last winter after he sent a series of threatening messages on Twitter. On Feb. 16, he told police that he was “trying to bring attention to cer- tain social issues,” according to court documents.
27, 2016 to le a brief.
According to court documents, the
extensions were necessary because Klundt’s rst public defender had taken a new job. A new attorney has yet to be assigned to the case.
Jordan Graham Appeals Appellate Court Decision
Less than a month after a federal appellate court rejected her appeal for a reduced sentence, Jordan Graham has led a petition for a rehearing.
Graham, 23, was convicted of sec- ond-degree murder in 2013 after she pushed her husband of seven days o a cli in Glacier National Park.
In November, Graham’s attorneys and federal prosecutors met before three Nine Circuit Court of Appeals judges in Portland, Oregon, a year and a half after she was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. She is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Alabama.
Graham stood trial in December 2013, but on the fourth day she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
In the appeal, Federal Public Defender Michael Donahoe argued that Graham’s sentence was extreme. He also criti- cized federal prosecutors for alleging that Graham may have planned the mur- der in their sentencing recommenda- tion. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Bau- cus responded that they simply made a recommendation and that U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy made the nal
Lenio spent ve months in the Flat- head County Detention Center before being released into the custody of his
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decision on sentencing.
On Nov. 19, the three-judge panel
denied Graham’s appeal and ruled that government did not breach any plea deal. However, Graham’s defense attorneys were allowed to appeal the decision if they believe the judge’s panel overlooked any facts in the case. The defense team did just that and on Dec. 1, the appellate court led a motion giving Graham’s attorneys until Jan. 11 to le their petition for a rehearing.
Charlo Man Gets 60 Years in Prison for Shooting Wife
A 33-year-old Charlo man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for shoot- ing his wife last year and trying to cover up the crime by telling investigators it was a suicide.
KERR-AM reports Adrian Michael McElderry was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison for mitigated deliberate homicide and 10 years each for a weapons enhancement and obstructing justice.
Court records say McElderry called 911 on Nov. 18, 2014, a reported that 29-year- old RaeLynn Charlo had shot herself after getting upside about his drinking.
Investigators determined the evidence didn’t match his story.
McElderry pleaded guilty in May.
District Judge James Manley said
McElderry becomes violent when he’s
intoxicated and recommended that if he
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is ever granted parole that he be required
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to wear an alcohol monitoring device.
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DECEMBER 9, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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