20th Judicial District Court News

Brooks charged with felony forgery

Dillon Ganuelas Brooks, 23, appeared in Judge Molly Owen’s court on May 10 for a hearing on a motion to revoke his own recognizance because he did not complete his recovery plan by March 29 at the Recovery Center of Montana in Clinton. His own recognizance was revoked, and bail remains at $25,000.

Brooks’ original charge stems from an incident on July 21, 2021, when a victim reported checkbooks on a Glacier Bank account had been stolen from her residence in Ronan sometime after April 26, 2021. The victim suspected a person who lived in rooms next door and knew where the checks were kept.

When Glacier Bank advised the victim that a check on her account had been presented to Super One, law enforcement officers viewed video showing a person presenting the check, then leaving the grocery store and getting into a Silverado pickup belonging to Brooks.

Other surveillance video showed another person trying to cash checks on the victim’s account. This person also tried to deposit the victim’s checks into her own account at Whitefish Credit Union, totaling more than $5,000.

This person was stopped by law enforcement, and the victim’s checks were found in the vehicle. The person admitted trying to pass the checks but said Brooks had written the checks. The two co-defendants in this case are Jolanda Brown and Desara Yellow Owl. All three were charged with felony forgery.

Brooks did not appear for court so a warrant was issued for his arrest on Sept. 1, 2021, and Brooks was arrested on Jan. 7, 2023. An omnibus hearing was scheduled for June 28 and a jury trial for July 23.

Brooks was released on his own recognizance on March 28, and the Lake County Attorney’s Office made a motion to revoke that ruling on March 29, and Brooks was arrested on March 31.

Ronan woman pleads guilty to fifth DUI

Under a plea agreement in Judge Owen’s Court on May 10,

Ronda Jean Pulse, 55, Ronan, pleaded guilty to felony DUI, fourth or subsequent offense.

She was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for 13 months with placement in an appropriate treatment program, followed by a consecutive term of five years at the Montana State Women’s Prison, all suspended, and a fine of $5,000.

Pulse’s case began on Aug. 5, 2022, when law enforcement responded to the scene of a woman being thrown from a vehicle. The officer found the victim sitting in a ditch off Timberlane Road south of Ronan.

She claimed she had been assaulted in a vehicle and described the vehicle which was found in Ronan. The driver was identified as Ronda Pulse, and the officer noted she smelled of alcoholic beverages, her speech was slurred, and she had strange mood swings. When asked, Pulse said she had had an alcoholic beverage. She showed signs of intoxication on field sobriety tests, blew a .186 on the preliminary breath test, but refused a blood test.

After a warrant was issued, blood was taken at St. Luke’s and sent to the Montana State Crime Lab. A records check revealed Pulse had four previous DUI’s, Feb. 14, 1994, March 19, 1996, Nov. 19, 1999, and March 2, 2011.

Pulse said she gave the victim a ride, but when the victim started acting strange, she kicked the victim out of the vehicle.

Head receives five-year suspended sentence

Raymond James Head was sentenced in Judge Owen’s court on May 10 for five counts of felony criminal endangerment, of which four were dismissed with prejudice.

He was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years, with five years suspended, and must report to Adult Probation and Parole. He received credit for 187 days served.

Head’s case stems from an incident on March 19, 2020, when dispatch received a call that a man was holding a female against her will in a vehicle heading north on Hwy. 35. A Lake County sheriff’s deputy responded, and Tribal Dispatch supplied additional information that Head was staying with a friend at Turtle Lake and that a vehicle like his was speeding on a dirt road in that area.

The vehicle was pulled off to the side of the road, but when the deputy approached, the vehicle backed up, stopped, and then drove at the deputy’s vehicle. With lights and sirens engaged, the deputy pursued Head’s vehicle, but he refused to pull over. Head kept driving even though a front tire appeared to be sideways to the vehicle as it was being driven.

The vehicle crashed into a ditch at the intersection of Wall Street and Turtle Lake. Two deputies rushed the pickup, found Head behind the wheel, and then he tried to flee. The deputies caught Head and checked the vehicle. There were five children in the vehicle, ages 3, 6, 9, 11 and 12, as well as their mother.

Head did not appear in court for the offense so a warrant was issued for his arrest on Feb. 3, 2021, and he was arrested on March 17, 2023.