Powder River Examiner -

Recent cases in Powder River County District Court are as follows:

Kyle Giacometto of Broadus was charged with endangering the welfare of a child stemming from a search of Giacometto's residence at 201 South Park in Broadus on April 11,2023. Giacometto was taken into custody on parole violations from a previous burglary conviction, and a subsequent hair follicle test of an infant child at the residence found evidence of methamphetamine in the child's system. If found guilty of the felony charge, an endangering the welfare of a child conviction carries penalties of imprisonment for up to five years and fines up to $10,000. Giacometto is currently in the Nexus addiction treatment facility in Lewistown. An omnibus hearing is scheduled for February 1st.

A hearing is scheduled for January 25th for Colton Grant on probation violations from a deferred assault with a weapon incident. The violations occurred when Grant tested positive for meth and THC in the fall of 2023, and also from an incident in which he is alleged to have thrown a pop bottle at an employee of Cross Ranch Mercantile in Biddle, in December. Grant's original conviction involved a 2 year deferred sentence. Grant was released on a $50,000 bond.

Bram Schaffer of Broadus pled guilty on January 3rd to his 4th DUI. The charge came about when Schaffer was pulled over 7 miles east of Broadus on June 3rd. Schaffer has been placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections for 13 months.

Curtis Turner of Miles City has a pre-trial hearing on February 26th in relation to a felony theft charge from August of 2023. Turner allegedly stole a variety of jewelry from Scott Carter's residence north of Broadus. The jewelry was later found in September at a pawn shop and coin store in Billings, and Turner was subsequently charged.

Court dates for the trial for Shane Copps' two felony theft charges have been continued until a late spring time frame.

An arraignment is scheduled for February 7th for Mstislav Triscenco, born 1987, for a violation from 2023 in which Triscenco was allegedly found to have a bottle of Freedom Blend Wine in his truck at the weigh station. The violation, which states that commercial drivers shall not possess alcohol within the cab or sleeper, carries a fine of up to $500.

Charges were dropped for John Hubbard, which involved three hunting violations alleged to have taken place in 2018. These charges were related to the poaching/illegal outfitting violations in Carter County, detailed back in August.