Meeting held about recent crime spree

NOXON - Tuesday night saw emotions run high as concerned citizens voiced opinions, asked questions and regaled fellow citizens and elected officials with personal stories about the rash of crime in the western section of Sanders County. A meeting that was originally planned for the fire hall in Noxon had to be moved to the Noxon school’s multipurpose room to accommodate the number of citizens who attended. So many people showed up, that several had to stand along the walls and back into the hallway. The meeting was held so Sheriff Tom Rummel, Undersheriff Lanny Hensley, Commissioner Tony Cox and County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Zimmerman could address the community on the crime problem and answer questions or concerns of the public. Commissioner Carol Brooker was present, but sat with the public.

The crime that the Western section of Sanders County has been experiencing have included break-ins of houses and storage units, assaults, stolen mail and stolen fuel from vehicles. Often, firearms have been stolen from homes, and businesses have been broken into and, on some occasions, shot up or damaged.

Once the meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance said, the elected officials commenced speaking one by one about the problem, the state of affairs in regards to reacting to the crime wave, and the difficulties of solving the problem.

Sheriff Rummel began by saying the county is approximately 115 miles by 60 miles, and then said, “You moved here for a reason,” describing the open space and freedom. However, he immediately pointed out that the isolation and openness of Noxon, Heron, Trout Creek and the tucked away properties of Western Sanders County opens up the opportunity for crime that goes unchecked. In addition, he explained that his biggest problem is that with six deputies, himself and Undersheriff Hensley, they cannot be in every place at once in such a large and expansive county. On any given day, it is possible that only two or three deputies are on patrol in the entire county at night.

“The only thing we can do is saturation patrols... push more to Noxon,” Sheriff Rummel said, explaining that, with a tight budget, increased patrols would be the only thing possible. Sheriff Rummel was clearly frustrated and said that it was, “discouraging,” to hear the public voice concerns that the Sheriff’s department is not doing its job when it is stretched so thin.

His explanation for the very noticeable increase in crime over the past 18 months is that, because the economy is slow, drug use has increased. “Yes, we have a meth problem,” Sheriff Rummel also added, describing why people are turning to robbery.

For example, one recent crime was a break-in and assault of a woman, for which Sheriff Rummel said there is a $1,000 reward for help in the capture of the individuals. It appears to be three people who committed the crime. There is a detective working on the case.

Sheriff Rummel concluded his statement by saying, arguably and defensively, “I can only patrol what I have funding for.”

Undersheriff Lanny Hensley elaborated on the rash of crimes, describing the mail thefts and other burglaries, but his biggest point was expressing the possibility of a community patrol. He said, “You see things,” to the public, expressing his wants and desires of having more public commitment to stopping crime.

Commissioner Cox explained the financial strain of having to divvy up the county’s funds to pay for the Sheriff’s department, roads, civil workers and the rest of what taxes pay for. He also elaborated on the possible creation of a citizens’ watch.

Public weighs in

Many questions were raised when the floor opened to the public, along with thoughts on fixing the problem. Some outwardly voiced their abhorrence of the criminals or political leadership. Emotions and thoughts varied throughout the night, sometimes creating a rift between the public and their elected officials.

Not everyone was angry with the Sheriff’s department or the elected officials. A citizen who was recently robbed, Brian Jensen, spoke about his positive experience with the Sheriff’s department.

On the night of March 19th, a male and female broke into a property owned by Jensen in Trout Creek. Jensen lives elsewhere in the county. The male and female broke into his house and went through every room and turned the place inside out. Once they left the premises, they eventually got stuck in the mud on a back road. They flagged for help, and the person who saw them called the Sheriff’s department. The two were apprehended and the stolen items were taken to the Sheriff’s office.

The next day, Jensen arrived at his property and immediately realized he had been robbed. He called the Sheriff’s department, and to his account, Deputy Hawthorn showed up quickly. Without much fuss it was determined that the Sheriff’s department had Jensen’s valuables. Jensen’s said, “Long story short, I was able to recover basically everything I had lost.” He then made clear to the audience, “Deputy Hawthorne said, ‘I’m not leaving till we get this resolved.’” In a later interview, Jensen explained, “I know what the police are doing with what they have is tough... They need people in our community to step up and stop this, because they can’t do it on their own.”    Jensen then said that many people do not know that at the Sheriff’s department they have a large number of valuables that have been seized from criminals, that no one has come to claim.

Others had direct questions for Sheriff Rummel and Commissioner Cox. One question that was posed was, how much does a single deputy cost the county. Though an exact figure was not provided, the approximate amount of funding stated for one deputy was $65,000, which Tony Cox, Sheriff Rummel and Undersheriff Hensley all said allowed them to employ, at most, six deputies. Sheriff Rummel was asked how many deputies he would want if he had the money he needed. He stated he wished he had double the number of deputies.

Where are the

deputies?

An important question continued to be raised about why there aren’t any deputies stationed permanently as a resident in one of the western towns of Sanders County, where there are no municipal police forces. Sheriff Rummel replied with a disgruntled response that the deputies belong to the Teamsters Union, and by their union code the deputies cannot be told where to live. Sheriff Rummel then expressed that he and the Undersheriff would look in to it more to make sure there is nothing possible that can be done.

In addition to the problem of stationing a deputy in the area, the idea of a reservist officer living in and serving a community was also described as an impossibility. According to Sheriff Rummel, by law, a reservist officer must be with a full-time officer when on duty.

Many of the responses provided by the elected officials, particularly the Sheriff’s Department, concluded with the fact that the budget is tight, and that there needs to be community involvement. A paper was passed out that explained possible methods the public could use to help the Sheriff’s department, such as taking license plate photos of suspicious cars, using trail cameras to record times and visual evidence of suspicious activity, watching out for neighbors, and simply not being afraid to report anything out of place.

County spending

More questions were raised as the meeting continued. The public and Commissioner Cox were asked about eliminating frivolous spending on unneeded expenditures, such as the fair. It was reported that the fair costs upwards of $400,000. Tony Cox replied that if it comes to that, it could be a possibility, but must also be decided by the public. He stated that if people felt this way, then perhaps more citizens should make their voice heard and attend open budget meetings. He also stated that perhaps there could a vote for such actions to take place.

With the budget being tight, questions about federal help were asked, but the answer was that with the economy in a slump, much federal aid is out of the question, and that federal agencies in the region are too busy with their own work as it is.

Accusations

Eventually the night shifted from questions about how to handle the problem to personal problems with the Sheriff’s Department and the situation in general.

One business owner described having bullets shot into her business on a Saturday and not getting a deputy to arrive until the Monday afterward. A dispute over the timeline and facts then ensued with Sheriff Rummel.

Another woman voiced her disgust with the situation and how it has been going on too long. She reported that her house had been robbed twice in the last year, and both times firearms had been stolen.

Victim voices his

concerns

Paul Overman, a man with a very personal problem with the leadership of the Sheriff’s Department, has had two run-ins with criminals. A dispute erupted between Overman and Sheriff Rummel over not having a deputy respond to what Overman says was an altercation between himself and three men on his property with guns, as well as a previous robbery.

In a post-meeting interview the next day, Overman recounted how he found three men on his property with firearms. When he confronted them, they threw him on the ground and held him there. He said that he made a lot of noise and eventually they fled the scene. According to his account, he called the Sheriff’s Department (calling 911) and no one came. He then explained that it was not the first time he has had trouble with criminals. Approximately a year ago, Overman reported he had $10,000 worth of valuables stolen from a property. Overman said that on both occasions the ball was dropped by the department, and they did not look in to either crime.

Problems with answers

given

“I was not happy with not getting any of my questions answered,” said Overman during the interview. “They can give the budget cry, but until they use the resources they have, it won’t make a difference doubling the size of the deputies...” He then elaborated on his thoughts about the meeting. Overman said his biggest problem was that, according to him, the force sends out more deputies in the morning, during the hours when normal citizens are going to work, than during the night, when the crimes are being committed. Overman feels that hassling school teachers, business owners and “hardworking people,” is a waste of funds.

He concluded his thoughts by circling back to his personal story, saying, “My big problem about last night is the Sheriff says we need to be the eyes and ears for them, but what could be more of an emergency than if three guys come to your property and throw you on the ground and you’ve caught them with stolen goods... isn’t that a good reason for a deputy to come to town?”

When to use force?

The rest of the meeting continued with questions of personal defense and when it is permissible. Attorney Zimmerman explained the Stand Your Ground law in Montana, but more questions were raised about how to protect one’s property. He explained that despite the law, it is better to still leave the premises if possible. Attorney Zimmerman then stated that people should bring up the matter with their attorney.

Repeat offenders

The last big question of the night was directed at Zimmerman again. “Why are the criminals that have been released back on the street?” He explained that only 10% of a person’s bail must be put up for them to be able to be released. Zimmerman went on to explain that maximum sentencing is almost never upheld in the judicial system unless it is a homicide, and that a plea bargain, or, as he put it, a, “plea deal,” often allows the criminal to be set free after only a short period of time, to many people’s dismay. Some voiced the opinion that the judicial system is awry, and some said Zimmerman is not doing his job properly. His response was that his hands are tied by the law.

Closing thoughts

As the meeting came to a close, people still wanted their voices heard. Some cautioned others about taking the law into their own hands or using deadly force against a criminal. Some tried to bring the situation down from a fever pitch and make sure that the end goal was to work to together to make the community a safer place. It was concluded that much still had to be discussed and figured out. Sheriff Rummel was asked about a short term plan. With a bit of anger, he said that he already stated it. “All we can do is more saturation patrols and get citizen help.”