Felony charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon have been filed against Robert Patrick McGillis. He is accused of assaulting Dennis McIntyre by hitting him in the face with a glass in a bathroom of the Corner Sports Bar in Hamilton on the night of June 11, 2007. McIntyre was gashed on the left side of his face. The wound required 57 stitches.

About a week after the incident a host of people showed up at a Hamilton City Council meeting demanding an investigation of the incident and its handling by the Hamilton City Police. Many expressed outrage that no one had been charged in the incident. Some made accusations of police misconduct and/or corruption.

On June 27, in a letter to the city council, City Attorney Ken Bell, who was not present at the meeting, answered those accusations.

"Accusations that the HPD is corrupt, crooked and on the take or that its officers are incompetent thugs who mistreat citizens are simply ludicrous," wrote Bell. "There is no basis in fact for any such accusations, and those who make them do so irresponsibly and without justification. They also do so inaccurately."

Bell proceeds to answer complaints on a few cases, the "altercation at the Corner Sports Bar" being one of them.

Bell states that in that incident, the HPD responded immediately and investigated the matter non-stop for three and a half days. A report was on his desk on Friday, June 15. He reviewed the matter and a week later, on June 22, referred the case to the Ravalli County Attorney's office for felony review since the City Attorney's office does not have jurisdiction over felony matters.

"When an incident arises where there are inconsistent reports as to what took place and numerous witnesses to interview, some of whom cannot be interviewed at the scene, HPD officers are too well trained to cite anyone before an investigation can be completed," wrote Bell. "In such cases, officers are encouraged to submit investigation reports to me and let me make the charging decision. In this incident, the officers performed exactly as they are trained to perform, and any accusations by uninformed people to the contrary are without merit."

Weeklong attendance by the County Attorney and his staff at the annual Conference of Montana County Attorneys then delayed action on the matter. It was the County Attorney's office that finally filed the felony charges.

According to the affidavit of probable cause supporting the charges, McGillis, who deals cards at the Corner Sports Bar, was involved in an argument with another card dealer who was replacing him at a poker table on the night of the incident. The second card dealer, Mark Copps, stated to officers that he entered the bathroom at the bar with McGillis, who was carrying a beer glass, to continue their argument. McIntyre was in the bathroom and Copps said that for some reason McGillis' anger was turned on McIntyre.

McIntyre, who claims not to know McGillis, said that he was hit in the face apparently for not leaving the bathroom quick enough. Bartender Chris Ziebarth confirmed that Mcintyre did not, himself, take a glass into the bathroom and that McIntyre is not the type to fight or be belligerent. Another witness said that he saw McIntyre exit the bathroom with a bloody face and then saw McGillis bolt out the back door.

A third card dealer, according to the affidavit, entered the bathroom at one point and saw McIntyre on the ground with a bleeding face and McGillis standing over him.

According to the affidavit, McGillis made many inconsistent statements when being interviewed. He stated that McIntyre hit him over the head with a bottle, but the only glass found in the bathroom was from the beer glass that Copps stated McGillis brought into the bathroom. McGillis, who also went to the hospital that evening with a cut hand, said at the time that he had been cut with a knife. He also claimed that his glass broke when he and McIntyre went to the ground and that McIntrye's injuries came from rolling over the glass.

Dr. Kelleher, who treated Mcintyre at the hospital, stated that in his opinion the injuries to McIntyre's face were more consistent with being hit with a glass rather than from rolling on glass on the floor.

Missing hiker still a mystery

By Michael Howell

As of last Monday, Barbara Bolick, a hiker who went missing on Wednesday, July 18 while hiking in the Bear Creek Overlook area west of Victor, is still missing. Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman called Bolick's disappearance "a mystery."

"We are perplexed," said Hoffman, after almost two weeks of intensive investigation.

Bolick disappeared while on a hike to Bear Creek Overlook with a friend of the family, Jim Ramaker.

According to Hoffman, Ramaker told authorities that he was walking with Bolick back down from the overlook when he went over to the edge to take a last look. In less than a minute he returned to the trail to find Bolick had disappeared. Thinking she had continued walking down, Ramaker also headed down the trail. But at a spot in the trail where he could see a good distance, he did not see her. Thinking that she might still be behind him, Ramaker told authorities, he turned around and headed back up. When he couldn't find her he headed down to call authorities for help.

Hoffman said that an incredible effort has been mounted in the search for Bolick. It has involved both night and day searches with four different helicopters, including Lifeflight and Careflight as well as a National Guard helicopter from Maelstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls and one from Homeland Security, also from Great Falls. A helicopter with forward looking infrared cameras was used in the night searches. Ground searches were also conducted by the National Guard, Homeland Security, U.S. Forest Service, as well as Missoula and Ravalli County Search and Rescue teams.

Last Sunday, specially trained dogs were brought in from Missoula and Helena to search the area, but to no avail.

"We have combed the area in the vicinity of the disappearance very well," said Hoffman. "No trace at all has been found."

The Sheriff's Office is still looking for two young men in their early 20's who may have been in the area at the time and may have seen Bolick. Hoffman said that due to the timeline involved the men were not suspects, but may be able to confirm that Bolick was indeed on the mountain that day. One of the males being sought has black hair, dark skin and an average athletic build. The other man has reddish hair, white skin and a slender athletic build. They were accompanied by a black dog with white marks and may have been driving a light colored SUV similar to an older body style S-10 size Chevrolet Blazer with Missoula County license plates.

"We would like to verify, if we can, that Bolick was even on the mountain that day," said Hoffman.

Anyone with any information about these men or Bolick is urged to contact the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office at 375-4009 or 375-4055, or, after hours, 363-3033. Or call Crimestoppers at 363-0062.

Bolick is 55 years old, five feet tall, and weighs about 115 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing tan shorts and multi-colored blouse and was carrying a black day-pack.

Town of Stevensville approves Main Street funding

By Michael Howell

The Stevensville Town Council agreed to a $10,000 contract for services with the Stevensville Main Street Association at its regular meeting on July 23. Under that contract, the Main Street Association serves as the economic development coordinator for the town, along with other services. The organization provides an annual accounting of its services and documents its efforts and the actual improvements in the downtown business sector.

The money to fund the services will be taken from an account accumulated through the Community Development Block Grant program. The town is sitting on over $300,000 in funds generated from foreclosure proceedings on businesses that were given loans by the town funded through the CDBG program that subsequently went bankrupt.

Funding of the association had been held up due to the publication of a flyer which named Town Councilor Paul Ludington as a Board Member of the Main Street Association. At the last Council meeting Mayor Bill Meisner was worried about a potential "appearance" of a conflict of interest if Ludington should vote on the proposed funding issue. Since that time the pamphlet has been corrected. Ludington actually serves as an "ex- officio" member on the Main Street Board and does not have a vote, precluding any conflict of interest.

According to unofficial minutes of the meeting, Councilor Tom Brown stated that no action should be taken because there was no contract for services to show the services that the association would supply to the town. Main Street Association President Victoria Howell stated that it would be the same contract agreed to in the past and nothing would be changed but the dates.

Councilor Bob Summers moved to approve the funding as recommended by the CDBG committee. Paul Ludington seconded the motion. Councilor Susan Evans voted along with Ludington and Summers to sign the contract. Councilor Tom Brown voted against. The motion passed 3 to 1.

Prior to the decision on Main Street funding, a request from the Stevensville Soccer Association for $10,000 was rejected. Greg McFadden, President of Stevensville Youth Soccer Association, made the request on the part of the soccer association to help fund installation of an irrigation system in a proposed soccer field at the Stevensville School. According to unofficial minutes, McFadden told the council that his group was in the process of gaining a ten-year lease on the property from the school "with no stipulations."

Although the CDBG committee had unanimously recommended approval of the $10,000 donation to the soccer field, the motion failed in a tie vote in which the Mayor refused to vote. Councilor Ludington moved for approval. Councilor Summers seconded and they both voted for approval. Councilors Evans and Brown voted against it. The Mayor declined to break the tie and the motion failed.

McFadden expressed disbelief and asked that another vote be taken. Mayor Meisner said that was not possible but that McFadden could bring it up at a future Council meeting.

Case challenges Hamilton City Attorney's failure to take oath

By Michael Howell

Attorney at the Public Defenders Office in Hamilton, Reed Mandelko, has filed a motion to dismiss the case against his client, Michael Sokol, because City Attorney Ken Bell did not have authority to issue the citation to Sokol for disorderly conduct on July 13, 2006 because he was not duly sworn into office until almost a year later on July 11, 2007. Because he was not duly sworn into office at the time of issuing the citation and because there is a one year statute of limitation on misdemeanor criminal charges, Mandelko argues, the case should be dismissed.

Mandelko argues that the City Attorney's actions in citing his client were "void ab initio" because he was not sworn into office at the time. He cites some Montana Supreme Court cases in which the court made just such a ruling in relation to justices of the peace, voiding search warrants that the judge had issued without being duly sworn in. He argues that the only difference in this case is that the official involved is a City Attorney instead of a judge.

City Attorney Ken Bell is on vacation and is not expected back until August 6 and was unavailable for comment.

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