Cops and Courts

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A New Jersey truck driver has been arrested and charged with two felonies, including negligent homicide, for the 2008 death of volunteer fireman Jerry James Parrick in a horrific wintertime crash on Interstate 90.

Parrick, 59, was warning traffic of a single-vehicle wreck on Dec. 17, 2008, near his Haugan home when a FedEx semi with two trailers braked and jackknifed on the icy road.

It slid into Parrick’s Dodge pickup that was parked, emergency lights flashing, on the shoulder of the westbound lane. Parrick was inside. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Parrick was a firefighter for the West End Volunteer Fire Department.

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Check it out here.

The following is from the Missoula Police Department’s senior criminal justice programmer:

After some diligent work with my co-worker Ken Marshall, we have now put the Daily Public Media Report on the web (http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/911center/dailypublicreport/).

As you will see the report will automatically pre-fill with the last 24 hour period on the web page, in ascending order, most current information last.  Tuesday web access will be delayed because of the database backup, it will be available after 7:30 a.m.  However, we have given you the option of looking at one of the last 7 days of data by selecting a date from the drop down list labeled “Date Range”.  The date range and time range are from 6:00 a.m. till 6:00 a.m.

We have also given you the option of selecting the dates in ascending order, most current information last, or descending, the most current information on top of the web page via another drop down list labeled “Sort Order”.  You can print this web page, but there will be no headers on any of the pages except the first one.

There you have it, dear readers. Check it early, check it often.

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After reporting this story about a homeless man who was shot in the cheek with a blowgun dart fired from a passing Lexus early Monday morning, I received word from a local blogger who recalled a similar incident 10 years ago, or so she remembered.

Here’s the August 1995 article written by former Missoulian reporter Mick Holien that a cursory search of our morgue (archive system) turned up:

Missoula city police are investigating the report of a 13-year-old girl who was hit in the outer lower arm with a blow dart shot from a passing vehicle on South Avenue near Community Medical Center Monday night.

The youngster was riding bikes with four girls west on South Avenue across from the hospital’s emergency exit lane about 7:40 p.m. when two males in the back seat of a vehicle shot a five-inch dart from a three- to four-foot-long black pipe or tube, striking the victim in the arm, her mother said.

The reddish-orange or rusty-orange vehicle with a light, possibly white or faded vinyl roof, proceeded west on South Avenue after the incident.

“She felt something in her arm and she thought she had been stung by a bee or hit with a rock from the car,” said the victim’s mother, who requested anonymity. “She looks down and sees this needle in her arm and that’s what she thought it was, was a needle.”

The victim shook her arm until the dart fell out, then stopped at a nearby house, where a nurse told her to go across the street to the emergency room.

Although her fingers were initially numbed, the girl since has regained full use of her arm.

A yellow rubber end and the five-inch dart were found on the side of the road and turned over to Missoula police, the victim’s mother said.

“It looks like a thin piece of wire where you pound the end flat and then you file it to make a point,” the woman said.

There you have it. I’ll update this post if I find any similar incidents. In the meantime, keep an eye out for poison-tipped arrows.

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Check out this link to real-time Montana Highway Patrol crash and incident reports. The Web page maps the locations and is updated pretty frequently.

It’s a good resource for anyone trying to figure out what’s happening on Montana’s roadways, be it a four-car collision tying up traffic or a report of road kill.

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After a hiatus from the blogosphere that I assure you, dear readers, was only temporary, I’d like to introduce a new weekly installment here at copsandcourts.com. It’s called Legalese.

That’s right, Legalese, as in that impossible-to-understand brand of jargon-y gobbledygook that lawyers use to obfuscate the clear and simple truth from us laypersons.

Actually, legalese is born of the kind of technical writing required of lawyers, judges and legislators to express legal analysis, precendent, rights, and duties. But used correctly, a lawyer’s language should still be clear and concise, so as to be understood by a lay client, and in oral arguments before a judge or jury it can often be downright artful.

But even when uttered by the most golden throated orators, legal argot can be difficult to interpret. And, I hesitate to admit it, but even the clearest and sharpest writing, such as that employed by this author, can get bogged down in phrases like “fiduciary duties,” “corporate directors,” and of course, the dreaded “fled on foot.”

So, in order to affect change, er, write more clearly so we’re all on the same (web) page here at copsandcourts.com, I offer the debut of Legalese!

Here it is: What is the difference between “Probation” and “Parole.”

According to Craig Thomas, executive director of the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole:

Parole is a flexible system of punishment and checks and balances administered by the Board of Pardons and Parole. Citizen Board members carefully review an offender who is nearing the end of the first phase of incarceration set by a District Court Judge. The Board extends time in prison for offenders who present a risk, demands all prisoners demonstrate they are no longer a danger, sets specific conditions that must be met before serious release is considered, sets requirements for supervision if parole is granted, and returns offenders to custody who violate parole conditions. The Department of Correcions (Probation and Parole Officers) supervises offenders released on parole.

Probation (deferred or suspended sentences) is a system of community supervision administered by the Court Judges. Probation supervision is generally imposed by the Court as an alternative to prison/jail or imposed to follow a period of incarceration. In the second circumstance, release from incarceration to probation is automatic once the prison portion of the sentence has been completed (discharged). Only the Court can revoke a period of probation. The Department of Corrections (Probation and Parole Officers) supervises offenders granted Probation.

I welcome suggestions for future installments of Legalese. Tell me what’s on your mind, and I’ll do my best to answer your persistent (I hope) questions. Bail versus Bond? Just ask Legalese. Voir Dire? It’s latin for something! Let’s figure it out together at Legalese.

Until next time.

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Police on Tuesday arrested a 28-year-old Missoula man on charges that he was growing and selling marijuana, and seized an estimated 120 plants from his Northside home.

Owen Lee Smith is charged with three felonies in the case – criminal production of dangerous drugs, possession of dangerous drugs with the intent to distribute, and criminal possession of opiates. Smith is scheduled to appear in Missoula County Justice Court Wednesday afternoon, and more details about the case will be made available at that time.

According to Deputy Missoula County Attorney Andrew Paul, the investigation into Smith’s alleged drug-dealing operation was conducted by Missoula’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force.

Paul said Smith is not a registered medical marijuana caregiver, but declined to comment further on the case.

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House Bill 228, also known as the “castle doctrine,” has played a significant role in the case of Allen Metzger.

Metzger maintained he acted in self-defense in the Aug. 16, 2009, slaying of James Finch in the men’s room of a Ronan bar. He was originally charged with deliberate homicide, but changed his plea Monday from “not guilty” to “no contest,” and prosecutors agreed to a reduced charge of negligent homicide.

Assuming a judge accepts the plea agreement, Metzger will serve no further jail time for the stabbing death.

The following is from Missoulian reporter Vince Devlin’s story on the change-of-plea hearing:

Lake County Attorney Mitch Young said he had to play the hand dealt to him by the last Montana Legislature, which changed the rules governing self-defense cases.

Previously, defendants claiming they acted in self-defense had to prove they did so. The new law shifted the burden of proof to the state, which must now prove a defendant did not act in self-defense in order to obtain a conviction.

“When you have two witnesses, and one of them dies, it’s difficult to show what happened,” Young said.

It will be interesting to see whether defendants in other deliberate homicide cases assert an affirmative defense now that the burden has shifted.

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A Missoula city councilwoman arrested last week for driving under the influence of alcohol pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of DUI per se, then apologized for her actions during a Missoula City Council meeting.

“I made a human error in judgment,” Pam Walzer, 54, said during the evening council meeting. “I was wrong and fully accept the responsibilities and consequences. This is my first DUI.”

Walzer read from a prepared statement at the meeting. She earlier appeared in Missoula Municipal Court before Judge Don Louden for the change-of-plea hearing. She pleaded guilty to per se drunken driving, whereby a defendant admits to driving with a blood alcohol content greater than 0.08 – which is against the law – but does not admit to driving while intoxicated.

At the council meeting, Walzer also turned the tables on those who called for her resignation. She said she regrets her flawed judgment, but she hopes to continue serving on the council in the future if that is the will of voters in Ward 2.

“I do not believe my lapse in judgment affects my ability to serve my constituents,” Walzer said. She went on. “I intend to continue my position on City Council.”

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Michael Moore does a superb job covering Sgt. Bob Heinle’s memorial service. It’s a moving tribute to a great man and a fine police officer.

As Pastor Lowell Hochhalter wrapped up Wednesday’s memorial service for former Missoula Police Sgt. Bob Heinle, he set a pair of Heinle’s boots on the lectern.

They looked relatively new; after all, the man who owned them hadn’t walked since October 1998, when he was shot by a man trying to cash a forged check.

But it would be a mistake to view the shoes as untraveled. Their owner was anything but.

“They’ve traveled miles,” said Hochhalter, a close friend of Heinle and his wife, Lisa. “They’ve covered some ground.”

His travels ended unexpectedly on Friday, when Heinle, paralyzed from the neck down, died at Community Medical Center. He was 47.

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