Lake County Court Report
- A Lake County jury was unable to come to consensus in the Dec. 4 trial of William Rossbach.
Rossbach is charged with assault on a peace officer in a May 15, 2019, incident in St. Ignatius.
Court charging documents allege Rossbach hit Tribal Officer T.J. Haynes when Haynes attempted to arrest him for fleeing on a stolen bicycle. Haynes deployed a taser in the incident. Rossbach’s defense claimed that he feared for his safety, with a history of interactions with Haynes, and claimed justifiable use of force in self-defense.
A retrial is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 16.
- Dana Baese was given a 5-year sentence to Department of Corrections with no time suspended on a charge of partner or family member assault, with a one-year suspended jail sentence for soliciting another to tamper with a witness in the case.
He was advised to seek appropriate help with mental health issues.
- Mariah Danielle Barber accepted the terms of a plea agreement for felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs (meth), in order to avoid up to 13 subsequent charges being filed for new offenses. Barber received a three-year commitment to Department of Corrections with recommendations for addiction treatment.
- Dakota Adams, who had been released on his own recognizance and failed to appear for arraignment for possession of methamphetamine, was apprehended after nearly two years on the run. He entered an initial not guilty plea and is being held on $25,000 bond.
- Kristen Two-Teeth received three consecutive 10-year sentences to the Department of Corrections, with all but five years suspended, on two charges of criminal child (under 14) endangerment and one of criminal endangerment, all felonies. Charges stemmed from a 2018 DUI incident in which Two-Teeth, impaired by alcohol, drove through a group of pedestrians and over a bicycle, with her children in the car.
Public Defender Eldena Bear Don’t Walk said Two-Teeth was benefitting from intensive mental health treatment, helping her deal with deeper issues underlying the alcohol abuse. She recommended a 3-year deferred sentence, which would provide Two-Teeth the opportunity to continue the mental health treatment, and a chance to erase her first felony from her record if successful in addiction treatment.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher explained that due to the seriousness of what could have happened, she rejected the recommendation, but because Two-Teeth pleaded guilty in an open plea, taking responsibility for the incident, most of the sentence is suspended.
- Jay Calvin Smith was given two consecutive 2-year commitments to Department of Corrections with all suspended but for time served, for felony theft and possession of dangerous drugs. As per a plea agreement, a third charge of criminal endangerment was dismissed. Smith was ordered to pay $11,197.38 for the stolen GMC van.