Cloud sentenced for stabbing juvenile

A Lake County woman who admitted to stabbing a juvenile was committed in Polson District Court Jan. 30 to the Montana Department of Corrections for 10 years, with five years suspended.

Danika Louiee Cloud, 20, pled guilty to assault with a weapon during an earlier court appearance. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed an unrelated charge of assault on a peace or judicial officer, which stemmed from fighting with detention staff April 5, 2023.

According to court records, on Feb. 1, 2023, the Lake County 911 center received a report that a 16-year-old girl had been stabbed in the back. An ambulance crew was treating the victim’s wounds when law enforcement arrived on scene. The victim was later transported to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson, where she was treated for a collapsed lung.

She told Polson Police that Cloud and another person had entered her apartment through a broken window and were attempting to retrieve personal property, including a television. At one point, the victim and the person who accompanied Cloud to the apartment began to argue and Cloud stabbed the victim in the back. When questioned by Police, Cloud said she couldn’t remember because she blacked out due to her anger.

Judge Molly Owen gave Cloud credit for having already served 259 days in jail and ordered her to pay restitution of $18,806.95.