Defendant pleads not guilty to charges

Matthew McCrossen appeared before Judge James A. Manley in the 20th Judicial District Court on Tuesday for his arraignment on multiple charges. McCrossen, through his attorney Britt Cotter, entered not guilty pleas to one count of assault with a weapon, four counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and one count each of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with evidence, and obstructing a peace officer.

Charging documents state that on June 25, 2021, the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office was notified by Mineral County of a shooting that occurred within Sanders County. A deputy responded to St. Regis, where the parties that were believed to be the victim and the reporting party were located. During the initial interview, McCrossen stated that he and the other party, Ryan Kimler, were going to visit a friend to go fishing, but had pulled over in a turnout near the Peninsula campground on Highway 135 to take a call. Allegedly, a pickup had also pulled into the turnout, with the driver speaking to Kimler. McCrossen said that he then heard gunfire and realized the driver of the pickup was shooting at them.

Upon arriving on the scene of the incident, deputies located casings of more than one caliber, as well as blood evidence. Detective Martin Spring, being assigned to this case, received information from the Missoula Police Department regarding another shooting reported in the same vicinity around the same time. The victim was currently in the hospital, but the parties left before Spring could interview them, per the charging documents.

A search warrant was obtained for McCrossen and Kimler’s vehicle, where law enforcement located several firearms and numerous drugs. Kimler was later interviewed, and charging documents allege his version of the events differed greatly from what law enforcement had been previously provided. Judge Manley set a jury trial date of October 24, 2022.

Jordan Keefe appeared for sentencing Tuesday following the revocation of his suspended sentence. After hearing the sentencing recommendations of the parties, Judge Manley ruled that Keefe’s five-year suspended sentence was revoked and sentenced Keefe to a five-year commitment with the Department of Corrections, giving Keefe credit for 18 months of street time and 62 days served. Keefe was remanded to the custody of the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office for transportation to the Department of Corrections.