Seeley Lake man found guilty of negligent endangerment and criminal mischief

SEELEY LAKE –Seeley Lake resident Timothy Pratt was found guilty of one felony count of negligent endangerment and one felony count of criminal mischief after allegedly driving his truck into his brother’s car and pushing it into his brother’s apartment at the Wolf Ridge Apartment complex in Seeley Lake the morning of Sept. 21, 2019. The criminal mischief misdemeanor charge was dismissed.

According to court documents, when Pratt’s brother refused to open his apartment door, Pratt tried to kick it in. After three failed attempts to kick in the door, Pratt got into his pickup, drove onto the Forest Service land across the street and slammed his pickup head-on into his brother’s parked Subaru.

After striking the vehicle, Pratt continued to drive, pushing the Subaru onto the deck and through the front wall of the apartment. He then backed his truck up and left. While Pratt’s brother and his girlfriend were in the apartment at the time, no one was injured.

According to the court documents, Pratt was charged with: felony criminal endangerment for knowingly engaging in conduct that created substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to the apartment occupants; felony criminal mischief for purposefully injuring, damaging or destroying the front wall at Wolf Ridge Apartments and his brother’s Subaru; and criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, knowingly or purposely injuring, damaging or destroying trees.

On Sept. 22, 2020 District Judge Jason Marks found Pratt guilty of the two felony offenses and dismissed the criminal mischief misdemeanor. A Pre-sentence Investigation Report was ordered.

On Dec. 22, 2020, the court sentenced Pratt to one year at the Missoula County Detention Center with one year suspended for negligent endangerment and a six-year deferred imposition of sentence with deferral date of Dec. 22, 2026. The two counts will run concurrently. Ten days were credited for time served. The court also imposed $7,608 in restitution plus a 10% administrative fee and in addition to $1,045 in fines and fees.

In addition, the court outlined 30 terms and conditions of probation. Included within these conditions were the prohibitions from: using, owning, possessing or controlling a firearm, ammunition, weapon or chemical agent; using or possessing alcoholic beverages and illegal drugs; gambling and entering a casino or any place where intoxicants are the chief item of sale.

In the judgment, Marks stated his reasons for his judgment were two-fold. First, the sentence takes into account Pratt’s lack of criminal history and the circumstances of the offense. Second, the sentence allows Pratt to pay restitution in the community.

The judgment was filed Jan. 8, 2021. Pratt has 120 days to request modification to the judgment. As of March 11, no request has been filed with the court.

 

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