Pablo man sent back to jail after suspended sentence revoked

POLSON — A 23-year-old Pablo man failed to live up to his suspended sentence responsibilities, which were invoked after he caused a fatal accident involving the death of his brother in 2005.

Justin Onesalt found himself back in district court last Thursday after admitting to traveling without permission, failing to report to his parole officer in the past year and testing positive for meth and marijuana on June 28.

He was sentenced to 15 years with 10 years suspended. The court has revoked and released Onesalt numerous times since his original arrest for negligent homicide in 2005.

According to court documents, on June 4, 2005, law enforcement officers responded to a one-vehicle rollover on Moiese Valley Road in Lake County. The crash killed one passenger, Marcus Onesalt. Documents state the cause of death was chest and head injuries from the crash.

Prior to the crash, witnesses stated that the vehicle Justin Onesalt was driving was erratic, “alternately speeding up, slowing down and tailgating the witnesses’ vehicle,” the affidavit said. The witnesses then pulled over to let the vehicle pass, but it refused. Onesalt’s vehicle continued to tailgate the witnesses, and they said they saw the front-seat passenger, who would later be identified as Marcus Onesalt, hanging out the window. After letting the vehicle pass them, the witnesses saw it swerve into a borrow pit and roll over.

The witnesses later reported that when they stopped to help, they noticed the vehicle had rolled onto the front passenger, and that he was dead. Court documents stated that the occupants of the crashed vehicle had left the scene, except for one, Isaac Pierre.

Montana Highway Patrolman Mike Gehl responded to the crash and interviewed Pierre, who identified Justin Onesalt as the driver of the crashed vehicle. Gehl then went to St. Luke’s Hospital where Onesalt had shown up and questioned him.

According to court documents, when Gehl spoke with Justin Onesalt, he noted that the defendant’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy, his speech was slurred, and he smelled of an intoxicating beverage.”

Gehl requested and received a blood sample that showed Onesalt’s BAC to be .14.

Gehl interviewed the three other passengers in the crashed vehicle, who confirmed that Justin Onesalt was the driver, was drinking before the incident and was driving recklessly, according to the affidavit. They added that Marcus Onesalt had been hanging out the window before the accident.

Justin Onesalt was found guilty of the charge and was sentenced to 20 years with 15 years suspended on Dec. 15, 2005.

He was released conditionally in March of 2007, but was arrested on May 9, 2007 for DUI, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, no insurance and no driver’s license. He pleaded guilty to all accounts and the court revoked his release.

Justin Onesalt was released conditionally on Aug. 5, 2008, but had a warrant issued for his arrest for multiple charges. He was released once again in 2010, but these latest charges have landed him back in court.

In a court document supporting the petition to revoke his suspended sentence, a law enforcement officer familiar with Onesalt’s case stated “the defendant has not adjusted well to supervision, he had ample opportunities in the past to straighten out his life but continues to violate the conditions of his probation. This young man has had four discipline hearings where he has pled guilty to infractions.”