Crazyboy pleads not guilty, transfer and revoke denied

Jaylen Jake Crazboy of Havre, 18, pleaded not guilty Thursday at an arraignment in Montana 12th Judicial District Court in Hill County to 71 felony and misdemeanor counts related to a burglary ring witnesses say he created and spearheaded.

Some of the charges include counts from burglaries at the Havre John Deere dealership Northern Ag Solutions and E-1 at Towing that made headlines at the end of January and beginning of February last year and resulted in a number of arrests being made.

District Court Judge Kaydee Snipes- Ruiz also ruled - after hearing testimonies from 12th Judicial District Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Kevin Buerkle and Havre Police Department Sgt. Lucas Ames - that the case of the State v. Jaylen Crazyboy will remain in District Court rather than being transferred to youth court. The Judge also revoked his release.

Deputy Hill County Attorney R. Tim Jeffrey moved to unseal the defendant's youth court records as there are members of the public that would like to attend the hearing. Public Defense Attorney Craig Buehler had no objections and the court granted the request and unsealed the file.

At the arraignment the court provided an advisement of rights to Crazyboy and Crazyboy was duly sworn in. He said he acknowledged receipt and review of the information in the arraignment and state he was prepared to proceed.

Jeffrey requested the court waive formal reading of the information and charges due to the length of the document. Buehler agreed and the court waived the reading of the charges.

After Crazyboy pleaded not guilty to the 71 felony and misdemeanor counts both the defendant and the prosecution agreed to move on to the transfer hearing, where a request was filed for Crazyboy's case to be moved to juvenile court rather than District Court.

During the hearing Buerkle testified that Jaylen has had a long pattern of violating the law and, for the community's protection, Crazyboy should be tried in District Court. He said that he has been a juvenile probation officer for the past 14 years and part of his job is to implement probationary programs, monitor juvenile probation cases and develop different programs to help rehabilitate juvenile offenders. He added that he has not worked directly with Crazyboy but has been aware of his cases throughout the years and supervises those who handle his case.

Buerkle said Crazyboy has been in the juvenile court system since he was 11 years old and the juvenile probation system has done everything in its power to help rehabilitate Crazyboy. Buerkle added that Crazyboy has an ongoing pattern of being non-compliant with supervision, including GPS tracking, alcohol and drug testing, and psychiatric treatments.

Jeffrey asked Buerkle if he believed the case should be handled in juvenile court, to which he replied, "No, because of the on-going pattern."

He added that for the safety of the community and to prevent more victims being created the court should try Crazyboy as an adult. Buerkle said that in the past, as a youth, Crazyboy has admitted guilt to charges such as drug possession, theft, resisting arrest, escape and partner or family member assault, as well as pleading not guilty to many more charges of the same nature.

"I believe his case should remain in District Court," Buerkle said.

The defense had no questions for the witness. The Defense Attorney, Buehler, said that he believed the best way to handle any resolution would be in District Court. He added that the defense is working with the county attorney on potential options for his client and the best way to handle those options would be through the District Court system.

The court also reviewed an evidentiary hearing, where Snipes-Ruiz revoked the release of Crazyboy.

Jeffrey called Havre Police Department Sgt. Lucas Ames to act as a witness.

Ames said that he has had numerous encounters with Crazyboy in the past 10 years, the most recent encounter was in December when Crazyboy was arrested after fleeing police custody. Ames added that in December a fellow officer reported that they were in pursuit of a vehicle in which Crazyboy was a passenger in. He said the driver and the other passengers in the vehicle stated Crazyboy was a passenger of the vehicle.

The pursuit resulted in the vehicle crashing and it was determined that Crazyboy fled the scene of the crash, Ames said, but added that officers reported not seeing Crazyboy leave the scene. Crazyboy was located about an hour after the crash hiding under a camper. Ames said that he was the officer who found Crazyboy, and he appeared to have been consuming alcohol.

Officers conducted a breathalyzer test, which Crazyboy tested having a .140 blood alcohol level. Crazyboy was then charged with two counts of obstructing a peace officer or other public servant, possession of an intoxicant by a minor and an open container within city limits.

Buehler said that officers did not physically see Crazyboy flee the scene of the crash and could not confirm Crazyboy was a passenger in the vehicle. He added that Crazyboy should have not been charged with two counts of obstruction because both charges are related to the same incident.

Jeffrey said that the main concern is Crazyboy was in violation of his condition of release and his release moving forward should be revoked, which Buehler did not challenge.

Snipes-Ruiz said the court found Crazyboy was in violation of his previous release and revoked his release moving forward.

The court instructed Jeffrey to prepare a proposed order in regard to the petitions to revoke.

The court instructed the Hill County Attoney's Office to disseminate remaining discovery for Crazyboy's case within two weeks and instructed council to submit a completed omnibus memorandum by Friday, March 6.