Not guilty pleas entered in court

Appearing for his initial appearance before Judge Molly Owen on Tuesday, John Walter Hannan entered a not guilty plea to a felony charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs. Hannan’s attorney, Bill Lower, made an argument to reduce bond in this case to an own recognizance release on this case, which would run concurrent with the release restrictions in effect for Hannan’s current probation revocation. Judge Owen ordered the bond to remain as previously ordered, but to run concurrent with the other matter. Jury trial was set for September 11, 2023.

Per the charging documents, on March 25, 2023, Deputy Tim Kelly and Probation Officer Lynn Bierwagen were conducting a probation search of Hannan’s home, following the revocation of Hannan’s conditional release due to an admission of methamphetamine use. During the search, Bierwagen found a small brown bottle with a white crystalline residue, three brown bottles containing liquid, and a blue film canister with a crystalline substance inside. The substance was later confirmed by the lab to be methamphetamine. Deputy Kelly also located firearms under Hannan’s mattress.

Tabitha Dawn Ballard pled not guilty to felony counts of strangulation of a partner or family member and criminal possession of dangerous drugs, as well as a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief. Addressing bond, Ballard’s attorney, Colton Risinger, requested Ballard be released on her own recognizance if she went directly from Sanders County Detention to a in-patient treatment facility. Upon the agreement of the parties, Judge Owen granted the request and set this matter for jury trial on September 11, 2023.

As alleged in the affidavit, on February 26, Officer Jason Thornton responded to a home in Thompson Falls for a report of property damage at Ballard’s mother’s home. The mother told Officer Thornton that Ballard had been previously living with her, but had been asked to leave four days prior, which Ballard had complied with initially. Ballard’s mother stated she had requested that Ballard arrange for a civil standby to pick up her belongings, however, Ballard had shown up that day without warning. The mother alleged that Ballad threw a rock and broke a window.

Upon further discussion with Officer Thornton, Ballard’s mother admitted that on February 22, Ballard allegedly choked and hit her, but that the incident wasn’t reported, as she didn’t want her daughter to get in trouble. Officer Thornton and Deputy Tim Kelly located Ballard at another home in town, where Ballard denied breaking the window and claimed her mother had choked her first during the incident on the February 22. When arrested, Ballard attempted to get officers to leave the bag she had been carrying behind. Officers searched the bag at the Sanders County Jail, locating Ballard’s wallet with her ID, drug paraphernalia, and a baggie with a “rock” inside. The “rock”, weighing in at 0.5 grams, tested positive for methamphetamine.