AG's office looks into Lake County

POLSON — Two state-led investigations into allegations made against the Lake County Sheriff’s Office are still underway, according to Attorney General Office representative John Doran.

Last month, Montana Department of Justice officials visited Polson after Lake County Sheriff Jay Doyle requested the Montana Attorney General’s Office investigate one allegation against himself and one allegation against his undersheriff, Karey Reynolds. Sheriff Doyle is under investigation for obstruction of justice, a claim that was brought forth by current Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Steve Kendley. The allegation against Undersheriff Reynolds is for perjury; he allegedly misrepresented his service history when filing for a search warrant. It was filed by Mike Gehl.

“Since both allegations were made within the department, that’s why he asked for an outside investigation,” Doran, communications officer with the Department of Justice, said. “We have some follow-up work to do; we really don’t have a time frame.”

These investigations are not related to the ongoing Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks investigation into potential game violations involving law enforcement officers in Lake County. Classified documents from that report, which began in March 2010, have gained media attention in recent months, but Doran warns that certain media outlets have been “grossly inaccurate” with those reports.

The documents, Doran said, had been brought to the attention of the Attorney General’s Office already last year. However, upon review, the office determined there was not enough evidence to press charges on the allegations made therein. FWP decided to re-open the investigation, nonetheless.