KCTR: We’re Montana’s Own » Crime

Who's Watching the Kids?

The Breakfast Flakes — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:06:07 +0000

A recent legislative audit finds there are at least 64 Montana school bus drivers with criminal records, including two with drunken-driving convictions within three years of the study. In addition, some school districts appear to be taking advantage of a reimbursement policy in which the larger the bus, the higher the payment rate per mile

Stealing from the Lord?

The Breakfast Flakes — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:06:10 +0000

Police in Billings are investigating after surveillance video captured a man stealing about $3,000 in equipment from Hope Center Foursquare CHURCH, including a riding lawn mower, snow blower and some power washers. The Reverend Grove Hull says the man showed up three times on Monday, first unloading a shed and then loading up the riding [...]

Missoula County attorney speaks to DOJ investigation

The Breakfast Flakes — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:25:32 +0000

The Missoula County attorney says he is willing to scrutinize the way his office handles sexual assault and rape cases, but will not cooperate with a Department of Justice probe he calls politically motivated. Fred Van Valkenburg spoke Monday at a City Club Missoula luncheon and blamed the Missoulian newspaper for unfairly creating a national [...]

Staying Safe

The Breakfast Flakes — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:09:34 +0000

Montana State University Billings officials warned students Wednesday evening of a recent string of sexual assaults against college-age women in Billings. Billings Police Department Chief Rich St. John said in an email that the assaults date to January of this year and that it’s not yet clear if they’re related.MSUB Police Chief Scott Forshee said [...]

March against Drugs and Violence

The Breakfast Flakes — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:06:16 +0000

The March Against Drugs & Violence is almost here! The event is sponsored by a coalition of community providers working to address drug addiction and related violence in our community. The event begins with community speakers, followed by a short “march” in the downtown area and wraps up with food, games, music and fun. All [...]

Possibly the Worlds' Worst Father

The Breakfast Flakes — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:36:56 +0000

A state judge has rejected a plea agreement that called for a 10-year suspended prison sentence for a Manhattan man charged with driving under the influence in a crash that killed his wife.

District Judge Mike Salvagni rejected the agreement Monday and gave Michael Soule and his attorney a week to decide whether to withdraw the no contest plea or accept his sentencing

Easy Does It

The Breakfast Flakes — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 13:07:44 +0000

Blackfeet judge expunges DUIs of senator’s brother saying Blackfeet judges say tribal law-enforcement officials have no duty to report drunken-driving and other traffic violations to the state. The policy was enforced in November when Chief Judge Allie Edwards ruled the tribe’s reporting of two prior DUI convictions on the reservation violated Shawn Augare’s rights. The [...]

Media Shield Law

The Breakfast Flakes — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:35:15 +0000

U.S. Senator Max Baucus is joining the call for a federal media shield law in the wake of the Justice Department’s seizure of journalists’ records. The Obama administration has in recent weeks acknowledged seizing portions of two months of phone records from The Associated Press. The Justice Department also read the emails of a Fox [...]

The Path To Hell

The Breakfast Flakes — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:02:27 +0000

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for vandalizing two Bozeman churches. The federal agency said Wednesday it became involved because of the possibility that one or both incidents may be a violation of civil rights….and P. S. a really [...]

Saving the Children!

The Breakfast Flakes — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:01:39 +0000

Governor Steve Bullock signed two child abuse protection bills inside the Cascade County Courthouse on Tuesday, adjacent to an ongoing jury trial of an alleged sexual assault of a 4-year-old girl. The two bills were Senate Bill 160 and House Bill 76. SB 160 was sponsored by Senator Mitch Tropila, which created the offense of [...]

Mom and Dad, It's Time For An Intervention

The Breakfast Flakes — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:04:43 +0000

University of Montana basketball player was charged with misdemeanor drunken driving early Monday after police saw his car stopped in the middle of Ryman Street. Spencer C. Coleman, 21, was arrested at about 2:45 a.m. after an officer spotted a broken tail lamp on his 1997 black Nissan Maxima, according to the affidavit in the [...]

Friends In Low Places

The Breakfast Flakes — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:46:35 +0000

The three-decade fight for freedom by a Montana man convicted of the 1979 slaying of a teenage classmate appeared to slam shut this week, when the Montana Supreme Court ordered him back to prison and took away his brief taste of normal life. But from the time he confessed to out-of-state police four years after [...]

Nurse Ratchet is on the prowl!

The Breakfast Flakes — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:26:31 +0000

Health care facilities throughout Billings remain on alert today after it was confirmed that a woman had posed as a nurse at Billings Clinic. “We’re watching,” said Barbara Schneeman, director of communication and advocacy at RiverStone Health. Schneeman said Billings Clinic notified Riverstone CEO John Felton at 9 a.m. last Thursday of the nurse impostor. A photo of [...]

Jail Dangerously Overcrowded

The Breakfast Flakes — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:05:51 +0000

Yellowstone County officials are considering creating a work program to ease overcrowding at the jail as it is dangerously over crowded. The Billings Gazette reports that Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder recently presented the idea to Yellowstone County commissioners, the county attorney, public defender and judges. Linder says representatives from the sheriff’s department and jail [...]

The Dude Abides

The Breakfast Flakes — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:05:52 +0000

A 48-year-old Missoula man has been ordered to pay just over $25,000 in restitution for fraudulently collecting Social Security disability payments while failing to report money he made running a medical marijuana growing operation, just an oversight I’m sure. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 48-year-old Scott Lee Hubeny also was placed on five years’ probation [...]

University More Concerned With Image Than Students

The Breakfast Flakes — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:43:48 +0000

A deal has been reached in the University of Montana sexual-assault probe, University of Montana president Royce Engstrom says independent monitors will ensure the school follows through on promised reforms after a federal investigation into mishandled sexual assault reports on campus. Justice Department Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roy Austin Jr. says investigators heard from women [...]

Fraud On the Rez

The Breakfast Flakes — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:23:37 +0000

The Chippewa Cree tribe in northern Montana has suspended two leaders charged with stealing federal stimulus money. Tribal council member John Chance Houle and Chippewa Cree Construction Corp. CEO Tony Belcourt were arraigned Tuesday on 17 fraud, theft and money laundering counts! Four others, including Belcourt’s wife Hailey, have also been charged; they are accused [...]

Montana Youth Allowed to Hunt

The Breakfast Flakes — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:56:53 +0000

A 15-year-old southwest Montana boy charged with bringing two guns to school in January because he wanted to show people “you don’t need an assault rifle to shoot up a school,” has reached a plea agreement that calls for treatment and probation. However, he will still be able to go on family hunting trips. The [...]

Bad Business!

The Breakfast Flakes — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:20:09 +0000

Former University of Montana quarterback Jason Washington has been sentenced to two years in prison on drug convictions stemming from his medical marijuana business. Federal agents raided three of Washington’s businesses in November 2011, including a large marijuana growing operation. Six others were indicted with him, five of whom pleaded guilty. He argued he complied [...]

Crow Corruption

The Breakfast Flakes — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:36:51 +0000

Three defendants in a corruption case on Montana’s Crow Indian Reservation have been sentenced to probation after taking money meant to pay for monitoring historic sites. U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull sentenced Larkin Troy Chandler, Mark James Denny and Frederick Deputee, Jr. Wednesday to five years’ probation each. They also must pay restitution — $73,045 [...]