Plains man pleads not guilty

Justin John Mielke pleaded not guilty to a felony count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and two misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence, 1st offense, during his initial appearance before Judge Molly Owen on Tuesday. A jury trial was set for April 8, 2024. Mielke’s attorney, Robert Long, requested a bond reduction to an own recognizance release, citing that Mielke has no previous criminal history and arrangements have been made for somewhere for Mielke to live. Judge Owen granted the request, provided that Mielke appeared Tuesday evening to have a drug patch applied.

As alleged in the charging documents, on September 29, a report was received of a man slumped over his steering wheel in the Plains Town Pump parking lot. Sanders County Deputy Devin Wegener and EMS responded to the location. Upon arrival, Deputy Wegener observed Mielke alone in the vehicle, slumped over the steering wheel while the car was still running and had its lights on. Deputy Wegener also observed a small piece of tin foil with apparent residue, a pipe in Mielke’s lap and a firearm in the back seat. Due to the situation, Deputy Wegener opened the car door to check on Miekle’s condition, which woke Mielke up. Mielke followed Deputy Wegener’s instructions and was taken into custody, allegedly advising Deputy Wegener that there were “mexi-pills” in the vehicle and giving permission for Deputy Wegener to retrieve them. “Mexi-pills” are typically a combination of dangerous drugs, including fentanyl. After receiving and executing a search warrant, officers recovered a baggie with a crystalline substance suspected to be meth, four pipes and a small quantity of alleged “mexi-pills.”

Appearing for his arraignment, Wesley Morrison entered a not guilty plea to two felony charges of robbery by accountability. Judge Owen scheduled a jury trial for April 8, 2024. Cierra Anderson, Morrison’s attorney, requested to reduce Morrison’s bond to an own recognizance release, stating that Morrison has no previous criminal history and was willing to wear a GPS monitor if necessary. After some discussion, Judge Owen granted the request with the conditions that Morrison have a drug patch applied, possess no weapons, and that he have no contact with the alleged victims.

On September 24, as laid forth in the filed affidavit, Sanders County Deputies Richard Woods and Paul Bankhead responded to a reported shooting near Dixon. CSKT Tribal Police had responded and were waiting with the alleged victims, a male and a female, who had walked to another residence to use a phone to call for help. Before their arrival, the alleged victims were transported to St. Patrick’s Medical Center in Missoula to treat a gunshot wound in the male’s foot. Deputies walked up to the shooting location, with Deputy Bankhead collecting an apparent .22 shell casing. Shortly after arriving, Tribal officers located the suspect’s vehicle at a home in Dixon, along with Morrison and Robert Gardner, who were being detained. Morrison allegedly told officers that he and Gardner hadn’t been at the residence.

Deputy Bankhead saw a firearm in plain sight in the back of the minivan, matching the description the alleged victims had provided, as well as shell casings on the front floor boards, appearing to belong to a .22 and a 9mm. Gardner gave permission for officers to search the van, claiming the firearm was only a BB gun, but then claimed he lost the key inside the residence. The owner of the home located the key, with Gardner then revoking consent as the officers began the search. Both Morrison and Gardner were arrested and transported to the Sanders County Jail.

The male alleged victim identified Gardner as the person who shot him in the foot when interviewed by Missoula police officers. He stated he had asked Gardner earlier in the night for a ride to Ronan, offering some gas money and to “hook him up with a bowl of weed,” but Gardner had declined. Morrison later spoke to Detective Ethan Harvey, claiming that the male alleged victim had stolen from Morrison’s family and friends. Morrison stated that he and Gardner wanted to get money and marijuana from the alleged victims, but no one was supposed to be shot. Morrison denied shooting anyone and claimed he didn’t think Gardner had shot anyone either.