Parents reach plea agreements on endangerment charges

A Ronan couple, accused of exposing their children to drugs, have each reached plea agreements. Trevor John Blackweasel and Ashley Michelle Upham, both 27, were each charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of children.

Blackweasel entered into a plea agreement Sept. 26 in District Court in Polson before Judge John Mercer and Upham entered into a plea agreement July 31 before Judge Molly Owen.

Upham was committed to the Montana Department of Corrections for five years on count one and five years, with all suspended, on count two, with the terms to run consecutively to each other. A third count was dismissed and Upham was given credit for having served 85 days in Jail.

Blackweasel’s plea agreement calls for sentencing being deferred for three years and counts two and three being dismissed. The judge is not bound by the agreement.

According to court records, on Sept. 20, 2023, emergency crews and law enforcement responded to a report of an unresponsive infant. At the scene, Upham handed the infant over to a law enforcement officer. The officer immediately began life saving procedures, however the infant was already cold to the touch, stiffening and showed signs of the skin discoloration associated with death.

The “entire house was littered with drug paraphernalia, commingled with children’s items.” A dose of Narcan was also located in the home. Blackweasel was located in a closet of the home, hiding under a blanket with two older children, ages 3 and 5.

An autopsy performed on the infant showed the cause of death as undetermined, but methamphetamine was in the infant’s system. Hair samples taken of the older children indicated the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

In a separate matter, Blackweasel and Upham were arrested July 8 after an armed stand-off with law enforcement on Bluebird Lane. They were located hiding in a garage with other known drug users.

Judge Mercer set Blackweasel’s case for sentencing on Nov. 14, and he remains in the Lake County jail with a bond totaling $75,000, which also includes a probation violation.