Sheriff to hold press conference

Mineral County Sheriff Ernie Ornelas will hold a press conference on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 6:00pm in front of the Mineral County Courthouse in Superior.

At the press conference Sheriff Ornelas will address the incident that occurred at the Mineral County Detention Center on Sept. 20 involving Deputy Jim Balenger and then inmate D.J. Bass.

Since an article ran in the Aug. 4 issue of the Mineral Independent regarding the incident and the following investigation by the Montana Department of Criminal Investigation Sheriff Ornelas had chosen not to speak to the press. That will change on Thursday evening and according to documents given to the Mineral Independent by Bob Mahon, the Sheriff will be addressing a wide range of topics relating to the incident.

“After all these articles and some of the internal stuff I’ve been aware of I think it’s time to get this out in the open,” Mahon told Mineral Independent Editor Justyna Tomtas Monday.

Mahon added that the reason for the press conference is to provide a public forum where the Sheriff can give additional information regarding the incident as well as field questions. Afterwards he said the “chips will fall where they may.”

A detailed outline of talking points provided to the Mineral Independent Monday states that Sheriff Ornelas will begin by providing background on Bass, the events leading up to the Sept. 20 incident as well as the series of events that occurred after Dep. Balenger was placed on administrative suspension.

Furthermore, the document states Sheriff Ornelas will address statements made in articles published in both the Mineral Independent and Missoulian newspapers.

Dep. Balenger’s attorney will also be present to discuss a previous incident involving Dep. Balenger and the illegal possession of an elk in 2010 that resulted in sanctions from then Sheriff Hugh Hopwood.

A full story on the press conference will appear on the Mineral Independent website, www.vp-mi.com, Friday.