Candidate for mayor addresses legal history Pierce says he made some mistakes, but has moved forward

By Ethan Smith / Leader Staff

Nathan Pierce knows firsthand that many people make mistakes when they're young, and he hopes voters will look past his when they go to the polls next Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Pierce, one of three candidates for mayor of Polson, was arrested and charged with several misdemeanors a few years ago — including assault and misdemeanor drug charges — but most of those charges were either dropped or overturned on appeal.

Pierce says he's moved forward with his life since then, and would like to continue to serve the community, this time in one of the most public roles in the City of Polson.

While Pierce has held less public roles with the city, including sitting on its government study review commission tasked with evaluating a new form of government a couple of years ago, his run for mayor has put him in more of the spotlight, and raises questions about just how much voters are willing to forgive and forget about a candidate's alleged criminal past.

"Realistically, there was a couple of years there that I was floundering and I didn't really know what I was doing in my life. As a good friend said, I 'made a trip over Fool's Hill,'" Pierce said. "I had to sit down and reevaluate everything I was doing, and start moving in a positive direction."

According to court documents, starting in the fall of 2001, members of the Northwest Drug Task Force began investigating whether Pierce was selling marijuana out of his Polson home. An agent arranged to purchase two ounces of pot from Pierce, using a middleman to make the purchase, and based on that incident and other information, a search warrant was executed at Pierce's home on June 3, 2002.

NWDTF agents claimed in court documents that they recovered a small amount of marijuana and some pipes at his home, and on June 4, Pierce was arraigned on charges of misdemeanor criminal possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia - both misdemeanors. The then-24-year-old pled not guilty to both charges.

However, Pierce's attorney, Larry Nistler, outlined numerous inconsistencies in the evidence leading up to the issuance of the search warrant, and based on Nistler's arguments, Justice of the Peace Chuck Wall ruled that the search warrant was invalid due to a lack of probable cause. Therefore, any evidence seized at the house was inadmissible in court, and the charges were dropped May 14, 2004, almost two years later.

"The information used to obtain the search warrant does not lead to probable cause," Wall wrote in his ruling.

Among the problems Nistler outlined in court documents included the fact that nobody actually witnessed Pierce selling any marijuana. While a middleman allegedly went into Pierce's house and returned with some pot some time later, he was not searched prior to going into the house, nor was the transaction recorded, Nistler noted.

In court documents, drug task force agents claimed to have witnessed PIerce handing some pot to a potential buyer outside his home, but Nistler was able to cast doubt on that by pointing out that the agents couldn't tell whether it was actually drugs that were handed off, but that it could have been a book, a CD or any other item. Nistler also raised questions about what type of alleged drug dealer would conduct such a transaction in public view, outside of a home, instead of behind closed doors, casting more doubt on the validity of the probable cause used to justify the search warrant.

Other evidence against Pierce included phone calls to the Sheriff's office from neighbors, complaining about vehicle traffic and people going in and out of Pierce's home constantly, but Nistler noted that that in and of itself wasn't evidence of drug transactions, and that law abiding people have visitors, too.

In their request for a search warrant, agents also said numerous people involved in drug activity had told them that a man named "Nate" always had pot for sale, but Nistler noted that another resident named Nate lived just a half a block from Pierce at the time.

"According to the court documents, there allegedly was some marijuana in my house, but nothing came of it," Pierce said.

He said something that "appeared to be marijuana" was taken from his house, but noted that no amounts of marijuana allegedly seized were ever specified in court documents.

While charges were dropped in that incident, Pierce found himself back in court just a few months later, this time facing misdemeanor assault charges and a careless driving ticket.

According to court documents, three young men were in a car driving from Polson to Ronan on Aug. 1, 2004, when they claimed that Pierce tailgated them, and made a threatening gesture by forming a mock gun using his thumb and index finger. They also claimed he mouthed "I'm going to shoot you" as he was driving alongside them.

They felt threatened enough to call 911, and a Ronan police officer initiated a traffic stop on Pierce's vehicle when he entered Ronan. Underneath the driver's seat, the officer found a loaded 9mm handgun.

Pierce was arraigned and pled not guilty to the charges on Sept. 27, 2004, after the county attorney's office reviewed the case. Under Montana law, a party only has to feel threatened by another individual for assault charges to be filed, even if no physical contact took place, and based upon the statements made by the three men, Pierce was charged with misdemeanor assault.

He was found guilty of both the assault and a careless driving charge during a bench trial in front of Judge Wall on March 4, 2005. In April, he was fined $500 with $250 suspended on the assault conviction, and received a deferred six-month sentence. Pierce was fined $100 with $50 suspended for the careless driving conviction, and was also required to pay court costs.

However, the entire case was thrown out after Pierce filed an appeal in district court. Pierce said in an interview earlier this week that the other driver cut him off, and that two of the three witnesses against him never bothered to show up to testify at the original trial.

"I was driving up Polson Hill, and I was cut off pretty rudely, and I waved my cell phone at them to indicate that I was in the process of calling 911," Pierce said. "Two of the witnesses didn't show up for court, and the third one said a lot of half truths on the witness stand. In addition, the allegation that I was driving a half inch from their bumper at 70 mph was absurd."

Last summer, Pierce was cited for driving with a suspended license, and that case is still pending in Justice Court. Pierce said he didn't know it was suspended at the time, apparently because of some unpaid fines, and that he has paid a reinstatement fee and now has a valid driver's license. However, he could still face fines and penalties if convicted.

Despite Pierce's explanations for these circumstances, he readily acknowledges making some mistakes earlier in his life. But he said after reevaluating the direction he was headed in, he wanted to do something positive with his life - and for the community.

"Like all people, I have made some mistakes in my youth, and I don't blame anyone for my actions but me," he said. "The fact of the matter is that I have evaluated what I have done and realized I wasn't on a proper course. I've decided to focus my time, energy and attention on doing something positive for the community."

Anecdotal evidence supports Pierce's claim. In addition to the government study review committee, he is president of the Polson Redevelopment Agency, and co-chairs the Streetscape subcommittee as it evaluates a potential multi-million dollar redesign of downtown Polson.

Pierce, a local Realtor, said his past legal problems don't prohibit him from serving effectively as mayor. (While many states have laws against convicted felons running for office, misdemeanor convictions don't preclude Pierce from running for office.)

"Despite these incidences, it doesn't change my ability to go in front of people and speak to them, and come up with creative ideas," he said. "My ability to lead and represent the people is still there."

Due to the implementation of a city manager, the Polson mayor position is much more symbolic now. Although the mayor is still responsible for running city council meetings, the position no longer includes responsibilities for budgeting, hiring and firing, and other duties found under the old city government model.

Pierce said he made a concerted effort to do some good with his life a few years ago, and went before then-mayor Randy Ingram to ask to be put on the city government review commission. Ingram encouraged him in his newfound interest in city government, Pierce said, and he realized that serving the public could be a way to move forward in a positive direction.

"I told him (Ingram) about the stupid things I'd done in my life, and he was very supportive about getting involved in local government. He really encouraged me," Pierce said. "I've always been told to try to do positive things with my life, and I want to focus my time and energy on the community - sort of a self-imposed community service."

While Pierce's past legal history was known among many people in the community, in the interests of fairness, the Lake County Leader also asked to review any criminal files for Pierce's opponents, Mike Lies and Lou Marchello. Nothing significant was discovered in either District or Justice Court files, which are all available to the public.

Pierce said his supporters are aware of his past, and have decided to look past that. Whether other voters choose to do that on Nov. 6 remains to be seen.

"There was no malice aforethought in my actions, and these were all misdemeanors. I have been very open and honest to my supporters, and have told them about things in my past that I'm not proud of," Pierce said. "When I've told people about mistakes I made when I was younger that I'm not proud of, the most common response I get is 'Who doesn't have things they did when they were younger that they aren't proud of?'"