Medland sentenced to 10 years for assault and pursuit

Judge Matthew Cuffe of Lincoln County appeared via the Zoom platform in District Court at Polson Sept. 11 for the sentencing hearing for Harry Medland III.

Medland, 36, pleaded guilty on July 24 to felony charges of criminal endangerment and assault with a weapon. The plea was entered as part of an agreement that dismisses a felony charge of criminal mischief and misdemeanor charges of theft, partner or family member assault and fleeing from or eluding a peace officer.

Judge Cuffe committed Medland to the Montana Department of Corrections for a total of 10 years, five years for each charge, to run consecutively.

According to court records, on Feb. 21, Polson Police were dispatched to a report of a woman in need of help. At the scene, an officer spoke with a woman who indicated that Medland came to her house and threatened her with a gun and a knife while saying he would kill her.

She also indicated that he appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

She said there were children in the house, who were able to flee as she kept Medland preoccupied. She also said Medland punched her in the face and took her cell phone before she managed to escape. The officer observed swelling and bruising near the woman’s right eye.

While the officer was gathering the woman’s statement, emergency dispatchers received a report that Medland had gone to another residence looking for his daughters before leaving in a black pick-up. When law enforcement came upon the suspect’s pick-up, the driver accelerated and ran several stop signs before leading officers on pursuit.

The truck went from the downtown area, then east to Memory Lane near Wal-Mart before circling back toward Polson. At one point, the black pick-up stopped in the 1400 block of 5th Street East, where it took out a fence and damaged a garage while avoiding spike strips.

The vehicle finally came to a stop near the 1500 block of 7th Street East, and Medland was taken into custody. He indicated that he threw some firearms out his window during the pursuit. Officers were able to recover all the firearms.

Judge Cuffe also ordered Medland to pay restitution of $15, 252.83 and gave him credit for having served 203 days in jail.