From the Courts, Dec. 6, 2016

Man sentenced for running off road and hitting power pole

A local man received Monday in District Court four years probation for drunkenly driving off the road and into a power pole.

Allan J. Labuda of Havre, born in 1970, was sentenced to four years to the Department of Corrections for criminal endangerment, a felony, all suspended. The sentence was pursuant to a plea deal.

District Court Judge Daniel Boucher said the reasons for the sentence are that it was Labuda’s first felony offense and “he deserves an opportunity to conduct himself appropriately on community supervision, and the Court hopes he continues to maintain his sobriety.”

A trooper with the Montana Highway Patrol arrived on the scene of a crash on U.S. Highway 87 June 2, 2015, near mile marker 108 and found a power pole atop of a white pickup truck.

The trooper approached the driver, Labuda, after learning he had refused medical treatment. The trooper immediately smelled alcohol on Labuda, court documents say.

The documents say Labuda said to the trooper, “I stepped downtown and had a few beers,” and that he said several more times that he had been drinking beer.

After failing a series of alcohol field tests, Labuda was put in the trooper’s car. The trooper asked if he was going to provide a breath test and Labuda said he was probably going to fail.

Labuda was arrested and transported to Northern Montana Hospital, where a blood sample was taken after a search warrant was granted.

Labuda was then transported to the Hill County Detention Center.

The next day trooper spoke to two witnesses who saw the crash. One of the witnesses said he saw Labuda cross the centerline before swerving back into his land and onto the shoulder. The witness said he did not see any wildlife. Labuda had told the trooper the day of the crash that he swerved to avoid a deer.

Woman sentenced for stealing thousands from Walmart

A local woman was given three years probation Monday in District Court for stealing more than $3,000 from Walmart.

Olga L. Velasco of Havre, born in 1996, was sentenced for felony theft by embezzlement, a common scheme, to a three-year deferred imposition of sentence and ordered to pay $3,579 restitution to Walmart.

The sentence was pursuant to a plea deal and if Velasco abides by the conditions of her sentence, she can ask to have the offense struck from her record.

A Walmart asset protection employee began investigating May 4 a cash register shortage from April 30, a court document says.

The employee viewed video footage of Velasco, who was a cashier, taking a stack of $20 bills and putting them in her boot.

Over the course of the her investigation, the Walmart employee reviewed video footage that encompassed several days in which Velasco took cash from the retailer. The total amount that Velasco took between April 28 and May 5 was $3,570, the document says.

The co-manager of the store interviewed Velasco May 6.

“(Velasco) admitted to taking money from the registers in order to pay personal bills for utilities, car repairs, and medical bills,” court documents say.

Velasco told the interviewer that when she’d take the money, she’d put it in her boot or vest pocket. She was fired that day.