Lincoln County man faces domestic, officer assault charges

Thomas Creighton was arraigned in Montana 19th Judicial District Court June 4 on five counts stemming from a domestic violence accusation and subsequent encounter with law enforcement.

Creighton was charged with three felony counts of assault on a peace officer one misdemeanor count of partner or family member assault and one misdemeanor count of destruction or tampering with a communication device. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Each felony assault charge carries a potential punishment of up to 10 years and $50,000 in fines. The misdemeanor assault charge carries up to one year and $1,000 in fines and the misdemeanor tampering or destruction charge carries up to six months and $1,000 in fines.

The charges all come from incidents that took place May 12, according to an affidavit from Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Streifling.

That night, Streifling spoke with Elvie Creighton, the spouse of Thomas Creighton, and Abigail and Jared Creighton, their adult children.

According to the affidavit, Elvie said Thomas had earlier grabbed her by the hair and jerked her head forward while insulting her. Elvie also said that he smashed her phone on the floor when she attempted to use it to call for help.

Elvie Creighton said that Thomas was intoxicated that day, and that though he had quit drinking years before, he had started drinking again in the past year. Since then his drinking and abusive behavior had escalated.

Streifling cited two previous reports by Elvie Creighton of abuse by Thomas. He noted that she also filed for divorce, but that it had never been finalized.

Elvie Creighton, as well as her adult children, expressed fear for her safety, according to the affidavit.

Streifling drove to the Creighton residence that night, accompanied by Deputy John Davis and Sergeant Brandon Holzer.

According to the affidavit, Streifling entered the open garage, went up a short stair, knocked on the back door, and “loudly announced myself as a Sheriff’s Deputy and told Mr. Creighton that I needed to talk to him about Elvie.”

The affidavit alleges that Thomas Creighton told Streifling to “Turn off your flashlight or you’re going to get your (self) shot.”

Streifling stated that he turned off his flashlight and moved to the bottom of the stairs, keeping an eye on the door. He took up a position to the left while Davis moved to the right and Holzer stayed near the open garage doors.

Holzer stated in his affidavit that Creighton exited the door holding “what appeared to be a gun.”

After the incident was over, it was determined he had a sawed-off, 12 gauge shotgun loaded with three rounds, one in the chamber, and the safety set to the fire position.

As Streifling was moving to the left, he stated that Creighton exited the door and stood on the top landing. All three deputies drew their weapons and yelled for Creighton to drop the gun, according to their three affidavits, but Creighton did not comply.

According to an affidavit by Davis, the shotgun “was pointed in our direction was we retreated for cover.” Streifling’s affidavit alleges that, from behind the window of one of the open garage doors, he saw the muzzle of the shotgun swing from where Holzer stood to where Streifling stood.

Streifling and Holzer both stated that they were preparing to shoot Creighton when Davis tased him, but as he recovered from the tasing, Creighton reached for the shotgun.

At that point, Streifling stated Holzer ran from his position by the door and up the short stairway, putting one foot on the shotgun and the other on Creighton’s neck.

In Holzer’s affidavit, he stated he advanced on Creighton and saw him attempting to raise the shotgun with his hand.

“I jumped in the air trying to evade getting shot in the leg. I used my right foot to stomp the gun back down to the ground. I then proceeded to strike Thomas in the face neck area with my left boot,” the affidavit states.

The deputies detained Creighton, taking him to Lincoln County jail after searching the residence.