Five felony charges keep sheriff’s office busy
by PERRY BACKUS - Ravalli Republic
Assaults, drug overdoses and domestic squabbles involving gunfire kept the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Department hopping this past weekend.
On Monday, five defendants faced felony charges in various Hamilton justice courts as a result.
It began Friday afternoon when sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of gunfire on Hamilton Heights Road shortly after 1 p.m.
A neighbor reported that Deborah L. Haynes, 33, fired a shot at her husband, according to court records. The neighbor said the husband drove off in one direction and the wife left the scene in another.
Deputies stopped Haynes a short time later and found the woman was bleeding from cuts to her forearm. She allegedly admitted she’d fired a pistol into the air.
Her husband told officers the couple had been arguing over their relationship and Haynes began breaking dishes and cut her arm doing so. The man said Haynes picked up a piece of glass and began cutting her left arm, the records said.
When the man left the house and got into his car, Haynes allegedly retrieved a pistol from her vehicle. The husband said she first pointed the pistol at herself and then yelled, “What about you?” and pointed the gun at him.
The husband said he ducked down and accelerated his truck as quickly as possible to get out of there fast. The court records said the man heard a gun shot as he drove away.
Officers found a .38 caliber Remington and a .38 caliber Rossi in the house following a search.
Haynes was charged with assault with a weapon and partner/family member assault, both felonies.
On Saturday morning, sheriff’s deputies arrested two men following an altercation on Wildcat Lane in Hamilton.
According to court records, Nicolas “Nick” Whiting, 23, and Clarence “Rob” Stroup, 27, walked down a driveway on Wildcat Lane to find Nate Burkleo and James “Bubba” Jones working on Bubba’s vehicle.
“Given the significant intoxication of Stroup and Whiting at the time of the offense, and their multiple conflicting statements given since the assaults, their motivations are unclear,” the charging affidavit said. “While the ‘why’ remains unclear, law enforcement had no trouble determining ‘what’ took place.”
The court record said the men initially turned back down the road and then Stroup walked over and allegedly punched Burkleo in the face several times, breaking his nose and knocking out a tooth.
On the walk back toward their house, the two men encountered the vehicle of Daniel and Rebbecca Morris. The couple’s 12-year-old son was in the car at the time.
Whiting walked over to the passenger’s side door and opened it to tell Rebbecca “this is between Dan and me,” the records said. He then allegedly punched out the back car window, where the young boy was sitting.
Whiting then allegedly yanked Daniel out of the vehicle and began to strangle him. The 6-foot-5-inch, 230-pound Whiting continued to choke the 5-foot-7-inch, 135-pound Daniel until Stroup pulled him off the man.
Whiting was charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor criminal mischief. Stroup was charged with felony aggravated assault.
Later Saturday at about 5:30 p.m., the Ravalli County 911 Center received a report that a young man was unconscious and was turning purple at a home in Victor. The caller said CPR was being performed.
A sheriff’s deputy who responded to the call was told there was a hypodermic syringe on the floor near Alex Ames, 25, by EMTs on the scene.
Ames’ brother, Adam, told the officer that he’d been forced to break down the door of Dan McCrossin’s home after he’d been told his brother had overdosed there, court records said.
Adam Ames and another man later told deputies that McCrossin, 48, attempted to keep people inside the house from calling 911 “despite Alex Ames obvious physical struggle to breathe,” said court records.
McCrossin called someone in Missoula to ask for advice and was told to use a spoon to open Ames’ airway, according to the records.
Ames’ mother later told officers she had a prescription for a Fentanyl patch, which is an opiate. She told officers one was missing and confided that her son, Alex, had admitted to stealing one earlier and that he and McCrossin allegedly “shot it up together,” the records said.
Ames’ mother said he believed the stolen patch had led to her son’s overdose, the records said.
Ames was charged with criminal possession of dangerous drugs and theft, both felonies.
McCrossin faces felony charges of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and criminal endangerment.
A criminal records check showed that McCrossin had two previous misdemeanor convictions for criminal possession of dangerous drugs and a felony conviction for burglary, said court records.
Editor Perry Backus can be reached at 363-3300 or editor@ravallirepublic.com
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Reader's Comments >>
HUTCH wrote on May 14, 2008 4:17 PM:
Madman wrote on May 14, 2008 1:35 PM:
And it will threaten even the most innocent and decent people, who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!
Support our Sheriff and his requests for increased funding. It's not going to get any better. "
Real Concerned wrote on May 14, 2008 8:54 AM:
Grace Long wrote on May 14, 2008 8:52 AM:
Concerned wrote on May 14, 2008 8:39 AM:
Pat Maichel wrote on May 14, 2008 6:13 AM: