On September 12 in Lincoln County District Court, a man from Eureka who pled guilty to stealing a variety of sporting goods earlier this year and received a suspended sentence was given credit for time served.
Colin Clifford Wolf, age 24, and Vaughn Grier Rouse, age 25, both of Rexford, have been accused of taking firearms and fishing rods, in addition to an inflatable raft and an outboard motor, from a residence located on Berger Lane, north of Eureka, on March 9. Rouse is also being charged with a felony for the suspected possession of methamphetamine in his possession.
On August 22, Wolf entered a guilty plea to an amended charge of theft, which was a felony. Wolf, who was still incarcerated at the time in the county jail, said at the time that he would have a job waiting for him when he was released. In addition to that, he stated that he would be able to pay any and all fines and fees connected to the offence.
During the hearing on September 12, District Judge Matt Cuffe handed Wolf a sentence consisting of a five-year probation that was suspended. He was sentenced to time already served as credit toward the punishment of $500.
This sentence will be served simultaneously with a three-year sentence he got in Flathead County on July 21 for criminal endangerment. The sentence will be served in its entirety. In such scenario, Wolf physically assaulted his girlfriend on February 28 by choking her.
Additionally, Wolf was found guilty of a misdemeanour charge of possessing drug paraphernalia in Flathead County in the year 2017. While the authorities were looking into a possible theft, they initially accused him with possessing methamphetamine.
At the meantime, an upcoming pre-trial hearing for Rouse is set to take place on October 17 in the District Court of Lincoln County.
In the charging statement for the burglary case, it is said that during the investigation of the scene, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Bobbie Noel collected fingerprints from the interior of a window on the house that looked to have been used to enter the residence.
She forwarded the fingerprints on for examination to the Montana State Crime Lab in Missoula.
On March 12, some weeks after the burglary was reported, Deputy Noel was performing a welfare check at the residence next door to where the incident had occurred when she noticed Wolf. The defendant said that he had come to the premises in order to meet two other individuals. Rouse was one of those people.
After that, on March 29th, a man turned in two firearms to the authorities. He claimed that the firearms belonged to his son, who at the time was being held in detention on different charges. The stolen rifles’ description was spot on with the guns that were recovered. When Deputy Noel spoke to the son on April 12, he indicated that he had traded for the two firearms with the guys, one of whom was Rouse, who Wolf said he was meeting on March 21. Deputy Noel had spoken to the son on April 12.
The search warrant for Rouse’s residence was executed on April 13 by Deputy Noel and Detective Dan Holskey of the Sheriff’s Office.
Rouse attempted to flee the scene by going around the back of the house, but he was apprehended there by Detective Holskey. Holskey stated that Rouse possessed a Smith & Wesson revolver with a.40 calibre and 11 bullets already loaded into the magazine. During the search, purportedly small packets containing a white material that field tests determined to be positive for methamphetamine were located.
Deputy Noel is under the impression that Rouse admitted ownership of the drugs to him.
According to the records filed in the case, the forensics lab confirmed on April 18 that Wolf was the owner of the fingerprints found on the window.
According to the court filings, on April 26, Deputy Noel and other officers issued a search warrant at Wolf’s residence and discovered him hiding behind a chair under a blanket. During the search, the cops located a raft that was reported missing from the residence.
When Deputy Noel spoke to Wolf, he allegedly indicated that he and Rouse broke into the home on Berger Lane, stole the raft, and took some booze with them. Wolf added that Rouse later informed him that he went back to the house and discovered some weapons there. Wolf said that Rouse told him this afterwards.
In the records filed with the court, it is stated that on April 27, Deputy Noel and other officers visited with Rouse’s parents at their residence, where they claimed having discovered an outboard engine and fly fishing rods in a shed on the property.
Rouse was released on his own recognisance but was mandated to wear a GPS monitoring device while he is out in public. Additionally, he was given the directive to move in with his mother in Rexford.
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