From the bench
(These public records were obtained at the Lake County Court after defendants appeared before Judge Deborah Kim Christopher July 10.)
Suspect takes a bite out of crime
When law enforcement officers arrived, Bridget Winkler, 32, of Polson, was stomping on her mother-in-law’s car near on Highway 35 while yelling and screaming.
A 911 caller said Winkler was smashing her mother-in-law’s front windshield.
Cops attempted to calm Winkler and coax her off the car. When Winkler failed to comply, they were forced to help her from her perch.
That’s when Winkler allegedly bit into a deputy’s thigh, causing the skin to break and great pain to the deputy. Deputies arrested Winkler, charging her with felony assault on a peace officer.
Cops released Winkler on her own recognizance May 21 and she appeared for her arraignment July 10. Her case was continued to July 31.
Child endangerment
On June 9, cops claim Michael John Ramirez, 49, of Polson, had “red, glassy eyes, smelled of alcohol and was transporting an unbuckled child,” when he was pulled over in Polson after nearly striking an oncoming truck.
Inside the older gray Chevy Blazer, the deputy found a child sitting in an unsecured booster and three bottles of liquor. The child told the deputy that his father woke him up to go to a neighborhood store.
Ramirez twice refused all DUI-related testing and a search warrant was obtained to force him to comply. Ramirez was allegedly found to have a blood alcohol level of .183, more than twice the leagl limit of .08.
Ramirez appeared in Lake County Court July 10 to face charges of felony criminal endangerment of a child, one count of felony negligent endangerment of a child with substantial risk of bodily injury or death, and one count driving without liability insurance, second offense.
If convicted of all charges, Ramirez faces a total of 11 years and 10 days of jail time and/or a $51,350 fee.
Ramirez was released with a SCRAM compliance monitoring system on the day of his arrest.
On July 10, Ramirez pled not guilty. His omnibus hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11 and his jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 27.
Suspect was kneedy
At 20 years old, Great Falls resident Stephanie Fromm-Lyons found herself in the back of a police cruiser after allegedly resisting arrest, kicking a police officer in the knee and allegedly damaging or destroying public property.
Fromm-Lyons appeared in court July 10 for her omnibus hearing where she faced charges of one count of assault on a police officer, one count of criminal mischief and one count of resisting arrest. If convicted of all charges Fromm-Lyons could face a total of 11 years in prison and/or $52,000. Fromm-Lyons’ jury trial is scheduled for Sept. 8.
Stalking
Prosecuters believe Travis Thinglestad sent more than 400 disparaging, degrading texts to his victim over the course of two months. Thinglestad appeared in court July 10 to face charges of felony stalking, second offense, after he allegedly violated an existing restraining order, continually badgering the victim with texts and intimidating the victim in person and in other situations. Thinglestad is accused of causing the victim substantial emotional distress. His jury trial is schedule for Sept. 8.
High-speed chase
Prosecuters dropped charges against Chaz Blain Creemedicine for bail jumping, but that was only after Creemedicine agreed to plead guilty to felony criminal endangerment and felony theft.
The incident occurred on May 29 when Creemedicine allegedly took cops on a high-speed chase from Missoula to north of St. Ignatius.
Creemedicine drove a stolen 2002 Hyundai northbound on Hwy 93 allegedly swerving into the southbound lanes at times, forcing cars off the road and nearly causing accidents.
Creemedine’s car was eventually disabled by law enforcement on Highway 93 and crashed into a mailbox in a ditch.
Creemedicine was sentenced to three years deferred for each charge and was ordered to bootcamp. If Creemedicine fails bootcamp, his deferred sentence will be revoked. If he passes, Creemedicine will face another review hearing to consider having him serve both his deferments concurrently.
Umphrey confesses
Cindy Umphrey appeared before District Court Judge David J. Cybulski on July 10 to face charges that she sold drugs from her Pablo home.
When Umphrey, 52, was arrested, cops allegedly found a pound of meth in small bags, 200 grams of marijuana, cocaine, Alprazolam, morphine, and Lorazepam. Umphrey was also in possession of a police scanner, scales, multiple fire arms, multiple pieces of drug paraphernalia, cash and a video surveillance system.
Umphrey confessed to three counts felony drug possession with the intent to distribute, and three counts of criminal possession of drugs.
Burglary
Robert Cruz of Missoula appeared was arraigned on the accusation that he burglarized Jore Corporation of Ronan. Cruz, who pled not guilty, was charged with one count of felony burglary which if convicted carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. Cruz was issued an omnibus hearing Sept. 11 and a jury trial Oct. 27.