No plans for felon to speak at Ronan Boys & Girls Club

Donnovan Sherwood will not be presenting at the Boys & Girls Club of the Flathead Reservation and Lake County.

Aric Cooksley, executive director of the organization, and District 20 Court Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher both confirmed the statement last week after multiple media outlets reported Sherwood would make an appearance at the club as a condition of sentencing for his part in a summer death.

“It was not intended that he’d be there; it was used as an example of one of the places” that Sherwood would have to speak to older youths, namely teenagers, once officials would give the go-ahead, Christopher said on Thursday of last week.

Court documents show that one of a list of conditions in the sentencing, Sherwood is expected to develop a presentation “to any appropriate and approved groups of teenagers.”

ON NOV. 29, Sherwood, 19, of Ravalli, was given a deferred sentence, with Christopher adding that Sherwood is to write an essay on organ donation and make presentations twice a year.

The presentations Sherwood is to make are meant to show youths the amount of trouble one can get into by making wrong decisions, Christopher clarified last week.

“He was charged with obstruction and has a clean record. He made poor choices,” she said, adding that she wants Sherwood to have to talk about his choices in a controlled setting.

Sherwood was accused of obstructing justice in relation to the death of Ronan resident Cassandra Harris in June.

According to court documents, Joseph Conko Parizeau, 22, of Big Arm, pushed Harris out of a moving vehicle in the McDonald Lake area after Harris met up with Parizeau, Sherwood and Julia Vaile, 18, of Missoula.

A charge against a fourth person, Gale Hendrickx III, of Pablo, was dismissed out of Lake County Justice Court.

The only reason violent crimes would be presented to youths would be to show possible outcomes, Christopher said.

She also decided to have Sherwood discuss organ donation because Harris’s family made the decision to donate her organs.

Christopher explained that while loved ones are grieving immediately after one’s death, organs are only good for so long before they cannot be used for transplants to save others’ lives.

“It’s a tumultuous decision because the family is grieving,” she said.

Cooksley also confirmed that Sherwood would not be speaking at The Boys & Girls Club any time soon.

“There’s no plan on our part to actually have him present to the kids of the club,” he said, also last Thursday.

On Dec. 4, Sherwood was booked in the Lake County Jail stemming from an incident that occurred earlier that day, according to court documents.

He is scheduled in court today, Thursday, for arraignment on one count of aggravated assault.