20th Judicial District Court News

Buck withdraws guilty plea, requests jury trial

Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher saw Curtis Daniel Buck in her court on July 13. He was in court for sentencing but withdrew his guilty plea and pulled out of a plea agreement.

Buck then requested a fifth jury trial date.

Buck’s case stems from a May 4, 2022, incident when Tribal Dispatch received a call that he had assaulted a person in her home. When an officer responded, the victim said Buck had punched her in the face, which was red and puffy.

According to the police report, she got Buck out the door and locked it. Unbeknownst to the victim and the responding officer, Buck had returned to the house while they were talking. The victim’s husband said he thought Buck broke a screen and crawled in through the window.

The officer tried to detain Buck for the assault on the victim. Buck and the officer got into a physical struggle in which Buck got on top of the officer and hit the officer with his fist and elbow numerous times. The victim pulled Buck off the officer.

Buck left the house and got into the officer’s patrol car and drove away. Buck called an off-duty tribal officer and said he was going to kill himself and to try to take other vehicles “head-on.”

Two Ronan police officers headed for the victim’s house on Timberlane Road in two cars. The officers saw a white car swerving toward one of the officer’s cars, just avoiding a crash with the patrol car. The white car swerved at the second police car, and that officer had to take evasive action to avoid a head-on crash.

Both officers saw the white car and realized it was a tribal police car. Unaware that Buck had stolen the vehicle, the Ronan officers continued on to the victim’s house.

The injured tribal officer was taken to St. Luke Hospital and patched up. Numerous deputies tried to locate Buck. The tribal police car was later found in St. Ignatius, unattended. Buck’s whereabouts were unknown at that time.

Buck was charged with felony assault on a peace or judicial office, felony aggravated burglary, felony criminal endangerment, and felony robbery. The State requested a $150,000 warrant which was issued on May 6, 2022, and executed a day later.

The bond was amended on Sept. 19, 2022, so Buck could be released into custody of a family member to be transported to Recovery Centers of Montana in Columbia Falls. He was ordered to participate and successfully complete the program. Failing that, he was required to report to the Lake County Jail to be incarcerated on a $25,000 bond. If he didn’t report to jail, a warrant for his arrest would be issued.

If he successfully completed the Recovery Centers of Montana program, Buck would released on his own recognizance. Within 24 hours of his release, he was required to enroll in and pay for drug and alcohol monitoring through an approved monitoring service.

On May 25, 2023, Buck agreed to a plea agreement that entailed pleading guilty to felony assault on a peace or judicial officer, with a five-year sentence to the Department of Corrections with three years suspended. For felony robbery, under the plea agreement, Buck would be sentenced to the Montana State Prison for 10 years with eight years suspended.

At sentencing, felony criminal endangerment and felony criminal endangerment were to be dismissed by the state with prejudice.

After pulling out of the plea agreement last Thursday, an omnibus hearing was scheduled for Oct. 19 with a jury trial set for Dec. 11.