Fire leads to arrest of two Troy men
Responders to a trailer fire in Troy got more than they bargained for last week, when they discovered and put out a second fire, as well as located a wrecked vehicle nearby and arrested two Troy men.
Troy Fire Department, Troy Police, Troy Volunteer Ambulance and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office responded to a structure fire at approximately 1 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, according to a press release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. The structure fire was in an abandoned trailer on Callahan Creek Road in Troy, with the brush fire approximately three quarters of a mile away. Two women were attempting to put out the brush fire with their hands when fire responders arrived and extinguished both blazes. Neither was injured during the fire.
While on the scene, fire personnel located a vehicle crash near the structure fire site. Deputies located the occupants of the vehicle and arrested the driver, 26-year-old Jack Wayne Hamilton III, for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without proof of insurance. The passenger, Blake Casey Fletcher was arrested on an outstanding warrant for failing to pay fines to Libby City Court.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Hamilton was in possession of a marijuana pipe. He was also given a blood test and the results are pending.
“Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Fisher found a ‘pot pipe’ in [the] pocket of Jack Hamilton while conducting frisk,” wrote Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Neil Duram. “Hamilton admitted that it was for smoking his medical marijuana but does not have a prescription.”
Hamilton was seen in Lincoln County Justice Court Oct. 28, where he pleaded guilty to the charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, second offense, criminal possession of drug paraphernalia and failing to carry proof of insurance.
He was sentenced to one year in the Lincoln County jail, with 358 days suspended on the driving under the influence charge. He was sentenced to 180 days on each of the other charges, with all but seven days suspended, to run concurrently with the other sentence. He was also fined $1,200 for the alcohol charge, along with a surcharge of $85 and ordered to not operate a motor vehicle without an interlock device. He was also fined $100, with another $85 surcharge for the paraphernalia charge and $250 with a $35 surcharge for the insurance violation.
Arson investigators are looking into both fires, but the crash was not the cause of either.