Sheriff, Sheffield react to dismissal

After years of biting their tongues, county officials were eager to speak Monday when Rob Hubbard’s corruption case was dismissed from U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch’s court.

“That little bastard,” Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said of Hubbard. “I was very happy when it was dismissed. It certainly was not unexpected. I don’t let someone like him be part of how I do business.”

The dismissal was only the latest in a long line of convoluted turns since a 2010 incident at the Koocanusa Marina sparked what Hubbard alleged was a conspiracy to ruin his life. The defendant list originally included Bowe, former deputy Travis Smith, Justice of the Peace Jay Sheffield, Deputy County Attorney Joe Cik and former victim-witness advocate Carol Ramos before summary judgment cleared the trio of legal jeopardy. Former deputy Travis Smith and former Sheriff’s Lt. Roger Guches remained as defendants until Monday.

Lynch dismissed Hubbard’s case after what the judge said was a pattern of problems during a yearlong discovery period. Hubbard, who does not have a law degree, acted as his own attorney. In the end, it was not the merit of Hubbard’s claims that collapsed his case, but his inability to provide himself proficient legal counsel.

“He did not have anything to provide,” Sheffield said. “Everyone knows there is no shortage of highly skilled lawyers willing to represent someone that has legitimate damages. Not surprisingly, Mr. Hubbard’s claim was filed without benefit of counsel. If he could have provided the federal court with any proof of wrongdoing, this case would have gone to trial long ago.”

Hubbard claims county officials began targeting him after he was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct at Koocanusa Marina. Hubbard invoked his right to a jury trial in justice court and lost. Hubbard’s attorney at the time, L. Jason Bryan, appealed the decision and filed for a new trial in district court. Cik then offered a plea agreement with a $100 fine and no jail time. Hubbard accepted the plea, which he claims incited Sheffield.

Sheffield said his issue with the plea agreement had nothing to do with Hubbard.

“My issue was with the County Attorney’s office,” Sheffield said. “It was a brand new deputy county attorney, and you don’t make a plea agreement after a jury-trial sentencing.”

Court documents show that Sheffield put a copy of the district court’s order on his office door and “spoke to Mr. Cik regarding his overall job performance, which included the plea agreement.”

Hubbard claims Bryan called him shortly after Sheffield’s discussion with Cik. According to Hubbard, Bryan warned him that he was now a target of Sheffield and the Sheriff’s Department, which Sheffield worked for before becoming justice of the peace.

Gregory Bonilla, a Montana Association of Counties attorney who defended Lincoln County officials, admitted Cik had a conversation with Bryan about Sheffield’s overall dissatisfaction with Cik, but only after Bryan was no longer representing Hubbard.

In March 2011, Hubbard’s 17-year-old son called to report an assault. Hubbard’s son claimed his father beat him with a broom. Hubbard said his son attacked him “in an outburst brought on by juvenile defiance to his authority.”

Images of Hubbard’s son’s room show several holes in the wall, which Hubbard said were created by his son grabbing him and slamming his head. Guches and Smith responded to the scene, and recordings of the initial interview with Hubbard’s son indicate a quickly dismantled story. Pictures of Hubbard’s son taken shortly after the incident reveal what looks like a rug burn on his neck and a scratch on his left earlobe. Pictures taken by police of Hubbard show several fresh scratches on his face, neck, torso and legs.

Guches’ photos of Hubbard’s son’s room reveal a discrepancy. Video of police interview with Hubbard show a broom on the bed. Guches’ first photo of the room does not show the broom on the floor. A photo taken 19 seconds later indicates the broom was moved to the floor. Hubbard alleged the broom was moved by officials to help substantiate his son’s story. Bowe said it was his understanding that Hubbard moved the broom and officers later returned it to its original location.

After separating and interviewing Hubbard, his son and his daughter, who was also present, Guches and Smith asked a highway patrolman who was also on the scene to watch Hubbard as they exited the house. Guches and Smith then turned off their audio and video recorders.

Hubbard claims this is when Smith called Bowe to discuss the situation. According to Hubbard, Bowe instructed that Hubbard be arrested for assault, a charge on which he was later found not guilty. Hubbard was unable to substantiate his claim about the phone call.

“He spends way too much time thinking,” Bowe said, denying any such decision was made. “That did not happen.”

The two oldest of Hubbard’s three children were removed from his home after the ordeal.

One of Hubbard’s biggest sticking points was the discovery of an inaccuracy in the time stamp on police communication recordings. Hubbard claims the Sheriff’s Office tampered with the time stamp to shield wrongdoing, which Bowe denies. Either way, the Sheriff’s Office bought a new 911 recorder late last year.

“The system we had had terrible trouble keeping time,” Lincoln County Undersheriff Brent Faulkner said. “The primary and secondary dispatch system couldn’t get in time together. We did not understand how big of a problem we had until (Hubbard’s case) came up. There was a 14-minute error in the whole thing.”

Faulkner said the $20,000 system was purchased with state 911 funds.

Despite the dismissal, Hubbard plans to carry on.

“All of these technicalities worked against me, and although he’s erroneous and will be appealed, it distracts from the bigger issue,” Hubbard said.

Sheffield was unsurprised.

“His allegations would be laughable but for the fact that they were filed in U.S. District Court,” Sheffield said. “This community will certainly be spending even more of our tax dollars in the coming days rebutting the appeal that Mr. Hubbard will inevitably file.”