Convicted sex offender headed back to prison

A convicted sex offender from Eureka is headed back to prison after he was sentenced Monday in Lincoln County District Court.

Jeb E. Marquis, 33, was recently convicted of not registering in Montana as a sexual offender.

Marquis was also sentenced to three years in prison in 2017 for a burglary that occurred in 2008. His first run-in with law enforcement occurred in 2007 when he was accused of stealing money from a church he attended. It was later transferred to Lincoln County Justice Court.

In the 2008 burglary case, Marquis pleaded guilty to breaking into the Eureka Middle School with two juveniles and spray painting several rooms. He received a 2-year deferred sentence for the crime.

Then in 2009, a state Probation and Parole officer filed a petition for revocation of Marquis' sentence, saying he left the state without permission and was accused of possession of stolen property and drug paraphernalia. He was also accused of drinking and using drugs, which he wasn't permitted to do while on probation.

According to court documents, Marquis absconded from probation in October 2009. He ended up in Maine and soon was facing trouble there. In November 2009, Marquis was convicted of misdemeanor theft in Bangor, Maine. In October 2011, he was convicted of drinking in public.

Then, Marquis was convicted in Maine in 2012 of misdemeanor sexual abuse of a minor.

After returning to Montana, he was arrested in 2017 for violating his parole. He admitted the violations and was sentenced to three years in the Treasure State Correctional Training Center.

After hearing arguments from Marquis’ public defender, Scott B. Johnson, and county Attorney Marcia Boris, District Judge Matt Cuffe sentenced Marquis to five years, with three suspended, to a state Department of Corrections facility.

Marquis was taken into custody following the hearing. He is currently lodged in the county jail.

Johnson attempted to make several points in Marquis’ favor. They included a letter from Maine officials that he is released from supervision in the 2011 case and they don’t require him to register. Johnson also said Marquis has a letter of support from his employer and there is no evidence of reoccurrence of the events of 11 years ago.

Marquis also addressed the court, saying, “I’ve been working to better myself since this happened. I’ve had a steady job for 2 1/2 years and I’m a supervisor there.”

Marquis also said he lives with his parents and takes care of them.

“My dad recently broke his arm and my mom has cancer,” Marquis said. “I volunteer in the community through my church and my parents give me great support.”

But Boris pointed out that the current conviction for failing to register is Marquis’ third.

Cuffe said it’s the second time Marquis has said he didn’t know he had to register, despite the fact he filled out forms to do so in 2017.

Cuffe also referenced a psychosexual evaluation from Dr. Michael J. Scolatti, a mental health consultant with the Montana Public Defender’s Office. Cuffe said Marquis was a low level offender and not likely to reoffend, but “he recognized other issues that the defendant had.”

The case began when authorities sought an arrest warrant in November 2021 for Marquis after a request from law enforcement officials in Maine for information regarding his whereabouts.

In August 2021, the Maine State Police Sex Offender Registry contacted the Montana Sexual or Violent Offender Registry for any leads on Marquis. That request ended up with Detective David Hall of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office as Marquis had returned to the Eureka area in 2017, according to court documents.

In an affidavit, Hall wrote that Marquis was arrested upon his arrival to the Treasure State for thefts and a burglary dating back to 2009. Hall recalled presenting him with a letter outlining how Marquis was to register in Montana because of his conviction in Maine.

He was instructed to register again while with the Montana Department of Corrections, Hall wrote. He went so far as to fill out the forms as well as sign and initial the requirements in August 2017. Released from the Montana State Prison in 2019, Marquis told officials he planned to move to the Eureka area.

“Marquis has never registered anywhere in the United States after getting out of prison,” Hall wrote.

With the request from Maine in hand, Hall asked his colleagues in the Eureka area if they had crossed paths with Marquis. In late October, Deputy Clint Heintz reported learning that Marquis paid a utility bill on behalf of his parents at Eureka City Hall in September.

On Oct. 29, 2021, Heintz spotted Marquis in Eureka while off duty at a local event, court documents said. He phoned Hall and passed the information along.

Based on Heintz’s information, Hall wrote that he believed they had enough probable cause to go after the arrest warrant.