With several police officers in the courtroom gallery, a judge sentenced Thompson St. Pierre to 10 years in prison for drawing a swarm of law enforcement officers into an armed standoff and threatening them.
In January, District Judge Kaydee Snipes Ruiz found St. Pierre guilty of felony assault with a weapon and misdemeanor resisting arrest in a bench trial, despite uncertainty about whether it was actually a gun St. Pierre pointed at officers.
On Wednesday, Snipes Ruiz sentenced St. Pierre to 10 years in Montana State Prison for the felony offense and six months in Hill County Detention Center on the misdemeanor, with credit for 225 days served, in line with the recommendation of Hill County Attorney Karen Alley.
“It’s clear that Mr. St. Pierre is a danger to the community and a danger to law enforcement,” Alley said.
St. Pierre has a history of only felony offenses, Alley said, adding this latest was his fifth.
“It is the state’s belief this is a very dangerous individual,” Alley said.
St. Pierre’s attorney, Theresa Diekhans, recommended the judge sentence her client to five years’ probation and 180 days in jail, with credit for time served. She asked the judge to consider that St. Pierre will be dealing with revocation in a federal case, implying that he’ll most likely serve time in that case.
Diekhans tried to bolster her client’s defense by saying St. Pierre never actually had a gun and that he was off his medication during the incident.
“When he’s on his meds, he’s very cooperative,” Diekhans said.
Diekhans said she understood the situation was understandably intense and was glad no one was hurt. But “no actual weapon was found,” she emphasized, despite a search that included dogs and metal detectors.
The judge reiterated that St. Pierre lodged himself in brush in a defensive position, had an object that looked like and which officers understood could have been a firearm, pointed it at them, and asked them if they wanted to go home tonight. That’s her concern, she said.
She also said, after mentioning an evaluation that indicated St. Pierre had high and moderate risk needs, that community supervision would not be a good idea. Her sentencing would allow the parole board to assess if he was ready to re-entry into the community.
Snipes Ruiz gave St. Pierre a chance to address the court before she imposed the sentence.
St. Pierre said he took responsibility for his actions. He said he should have been on his medication. He said the entire situation caused him a lot of anxiety, adding that he has spent a lot of time in prison and wasn’t used to being around people. He said he didn’t have a gun, but when officers yelled there was a gun, that further intensified his anxiety.
“It was my fault,” St. Pierre said. “I should’ve never put myself in this situation.”
Neither side called witnesses.
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