Lake County man convicted of 2001 shooting sent back to prison for 30 years

A Lake County man with a history of violent behavior received a 30-year sentence at the Montana State Prison after a pair of 15-year suspended sentences related to a 2001 shooting in Ronan were revoked last week in Lake County District Court.

David Matthew Crumley Jr., 39, formerly of Ronan and Polson, admitted to multiple probation violations as part of a plea agreement on June 24 before District Court Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher.

In return for the admissions, Lake County Attorney Steven Eschenbacher agreed to drop multiple pending cases against Crumley but sought the maximum 30 years on revocation with a 10-year parole restriction.

Crumley was arrested after two men were shot in November of 2001 in Ronan. One of the men was shot in the stomach. The other was shot in the arms, leg and torso, according to court documents. Both survived.

Crumley originally was charged with two counts of attempted deliberate homicide, and in March of 2005 he was convicted of two counts of the lesser charge of aggravated assault. Judge Christopher, who also oversaw the shooting case, sentenced Crumley to two 20-year prison terms, with all but six months suspended.

Crumley remained in Lake County and began a career in fire management. He stayed out of trouble, but often failed to meet the requirements of his probation. Eventually, a warrant for his arrest was issued.

In 2009 Crumley fled from a law enforcement officer during a traffic stop, and as a result of the ensuing chase he was charged with felony criminal endangerment. He eventually was convicted of misdemeanor negligent endangerment and sentenced to one year in county jail, with all suspended except time served. As a result of the conviction, he received 10 years on revocation — five of 20 years for each of the 2005 convictions, with 15 remaining suspended for each charge.

Crumley was released in 2018 and soon ran into additional probation problems. Parole and Probation officer Dale Ramaser testified last week that Crumley eventually admitted to using methamphetamine in 2018, and he also failed to show up for appointments, left the county without permission and changed residence without permission. In 2019 Crumley was charged with failure to register and failure to provide notice of change of address or employment status.

While in custody awaiting a hearing on probation revocation in 2019, Crumley was charged with assaulting a peace or judicial officer, a felony.

In 2020 he again was charged with assaulting a peace or judicial officer inside the Lake County Jail. And earlier this year he was charged with felony aggravated assault following a fight with another inmate, during which the other inmate was left with lacerations and fractured orbital and nasal bones. The encounter was captured on jail surveillance, and Eschenbacher played a video recording for the court prior to sentencing. It appeared to show Crumley continuing to beat the other inmate even after he had stopped fighting back.

“He is a threat within the jail, yes,” Ramaser testified.

Lake County Jail Commander Joel Shearer also testified.

“Typically, he’s a well behaved inmate, for the most part,” Shearer said, while admitting there have been obvious exceptions.

Defense attorney Britt Cotter had sought a total of 20 years in prison with the possibility of parole. Cotter referred to a medical report that was included in the case files.

“David himself wanted the evaluation,” Cotter said. “He wants to know why he explodes, why he can be violent and why he can’t follow the rules of his probation.”

Cotter also pointed to Crumley’s childhood as a likely root cause of his violent outbursts.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever had a client who was so severely abused. ... He had no chance to be successful. ... I think that should be considered as mitigating circumstances.”

Judge Christopher acknowledged Crumley’s difficult childhood.

“That’s terrible,” Christopher said. “That should not happen to anybody. But you hurt people when you were out (of prison), and you hurt people when you were in. How do we keep people safe? How do we keep you safe?”

“I’ve had this mountain of time hanging over my head since I was 19 years old,” Crumley said prior to sentencing. “When I experience violence, I black out, I go close to a blackout. You’re right. There is a community to protect. But I love this community. I went as far in fire management as I could go without a college degree. I was the youngest crew boss out there, and I was nominated for crew boss of the year at age 26.”

“I’ve seen both the David Crumleys that are out there,” Christopher said. “One’s a pretty nice guy. The other is terrifying.”

Christopher ultimately agreed to the prosecutor’s recommendation of the full 30 years and a 10-year parole restriction.

Prior to the plea agreement, Crumley was facing a maximum of 330 years plus life. He still has two pending charges in Missoula County, felony robbery and felony criminal endangerment, and he faces a maximum of 50 years for those offenses.