H.S. man pleads not guilty to assault

Theodore Gibson made an initial appearance on Tuesday before Judge John Larson for a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon, entering a plea of not guilty. A jury trial was scheduled for July 15, 2024.

As detailed in the affidavit filed with the court, on February 10, Sanders County Sheriff’s Deputy Corey Wheeldon responded to the Barber Shop Bar in Hot Springs following a report of a male entering the bar with a firearm and waiving it at patrons. Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Zachary Rehbein also responded, arriving on scene prior to Deputy Wheeldon. Trooper Rehbein had identified the male suspect as Gibson and taken him into custody.

Upon his arrival, Deputy Wheeldon inspected the firearm, which was a flare gun fitted with an adapter, which made it capable of firing either a .45 long Colt round or a .410 shotgun shell, the latter of which was loaded in the flare gun.

Deputy Wheeldon entered the bar to speak with the bartender, noting that there were 16-17 people who had been present for the incident. According to the bartender, Gibson had originally entered the bar sometime before 10 p.m. with a large black dog on a leash. At some point, Gibson allegedly kicked his dog, upsetting several people. When the bartender asked him to stop, he noticed that Gibson appeared to be intoxicated and told him to leave. Gibson then allegedly returned a short time later and yelled at the bartender, who ordered Gibson to leave.

Around 15 minutes later, Gibson returned, walking toward the counter and allegedly pointing a firearm first at the bartender and at the patrons. The bartender claimed Gibson continued to approach the counter, pointing the firearm in his face, before patrons were able to knock the firearm from his hands and pin Gibson to the ground. Deputy Wheeldon interviewed several of the patrons, who confirmed the sequence of events, adding that when Gibson was pointing the firearm at the other people in the bar, he allegedly said something like “I’ll kill you all.”

Deputy Wheeldon took custody of Gibson, noting that he appeared highly intoxicated and his breath smelled strongly of alcohol. Gibson opted to not speak with him, but was transported to the jail without incident.

Also in District Court on Tuesday, Isaac Samuel Warnes, the third co-defendant charged in relation to the break-in at the Top Shelf Botanicals Dispensary in Plains, made his initial appearance and entered not guilty pleas to felony charges of burglary and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. An order setting dates for the jury trial will be filed in the near future. The details of this incident were contained in the March 7 edition of the Ledger.

Appearing for his initial appearance, Robert Albert Torti III pleaded not guilty to a felony count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and a misdemeanor count of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. Judge Larson set this matter for jury trial on July 15, 2024.

According to the filed affidavit, on February 26, Sanders County Sheriff’s Deputy Craig McCarthy applied for and received a search warrant for a property near Trout Creek in order to locate an individual that was wanted out of Idaho. The next day, Deputy McCarthy, accompanied by two other deputies and four members of the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, served the warrant on Torti, who confirmed that he was renting the property from the owner.

During the search, officers observed multiple small glass pipes, with charring and white residue, laying in plain sight on a bed in one of the bedrooms. There was also a small plastic baggie and vial on the bed, both containing a clear, crystalline substance, consistent with methamphetamine. After discovering these items, Deputy McCarthy halted the search in order to apply for another search warrant, which was granted. The items were collected as evidence, with the substance field testing as a presumptive positive for methamphetamine. Deputy McCarthy spoke with Torti, who allegedly confirmed he was the only tenant with access to that bedroom and that the items belonged to him.

Scott Gilbert Apgar appeared to enter a change of plea, pleading guilty to one felony count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs. Judge Larson set this matter for sentencing on May 14, 2024

Appearing for sentencing, Toby Elvadore Zak received a two year deferred sentence on a felony charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, which will run concurrent with another sentence from Idaho. Judge Larson gave Zak credit for 31 days time served, and waived all of the fines and fees except the fee for completing the presentence investigation.