High-speed chase crisscrosses Havre

Cheenah M. Piapot led police on a high-speed chase that included 16 miles and three-quarters of an hour in the Havre area alone early Monday, according to court papers.

The chase ended with the arrest of Piapot and a fugitive from Yellowstone County, Christopher James Michelotti of Great Falls.

The Hill County Attorney’s Office Wednesday filed charges against Piapot, born in 1987, alleging she drove a red sedan vehicle in the early morning hours Memorial Day in a high-speed chase from Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation through Havre, ending up with the car breaking down southeast of Havre on a one-track road.

Officers at the end of the chase also arrested Michelotti, born in 1984, on a warrant for his arrest in connection to a burglary in which he reportedly was shot.

Piapot is charged with felony counts of obstructing justice and criminal endangerment and a misdemeanor count of fleeing from or eluding a peace officer.

Michelotti left a Billings hospital — he had not yet been charged — after a Billings homeowner said he shot Michelotti when he and Danny Jo Lira entered the man’s home and ignored his telling them to leave. Lira has been charged with aggravated burglary.

According to documents charging Piapot, the chase began before 2:10 a.m. Monday. At 2:10 a.m. Rocky Boy police officers contacted the Hill County Sheriff’s Office asking for assistance in a pursuit that started on the reservation and was proceeding north on U.S. Highway 87, with the sedan just passing Northern Winz Casino at the time of the call.

The officers, who said the car was driving at speeds of about 101 mph, also said Michelotti was believed to be a passenger in the vehicle at that time.

A Hill County deputy sheriff joined the pursuit south of Fort Assinniboine, and pursued the vehicle at speeds faster than 100 mph at times.

A Havre police officer placed stop sticks on Old Post Road, and the red sedan ran over the sticks, puncturing one tire, the document says.

At 2:27 a.m. another Hill County deputy sheriff joined the pursuit, which then included two cars with deputies, a Montana Highway Patrol vehicle and two Rocky Boy police vehicles.

The pursuit crisscrossed Havre, with the document saying it included 46 minutes and 16 miles in the Havre area alone.

The vehicle eventually turned off Clear Creek Road east of Havre, proceeding south on Bullhook Road.

The pursuit on the gravel portion of the road, including washboard and curves, varied between 35 mph and 40 mph, with the sedan driving on the rim of the driver’s side rear wheel.

The pursuit continued south, crossing a cattle guard and continuing down a one-lane road, the document says.

The law enforcement officers then came upon the vehicle off the road on a grassy flat facing the northwest, with the damaged tire missing and the rim destroyed and the sedan’s engine overheated and smoking.

The law enforcement officers arrested Piapot, who was still in the Hill County jail this morning on $20,000 bond, and Michelotti on the Yellowstone County aggravated burglary warrant with a $500,000 bond.