Purkhiser gets 10-year sentence in Montana State Prison

A Lincoln County man found guilty of felony witness tampering in June was sentenced Monday to 10 years in the Montana State Prison.

Walter Jason Purkhiser, 42, learned his fate in Lincoln County District Court, but not before launching into a nearly hour-long tirade when he was given the chance to address the court by District Judge Matt Cuffe.

“I’ve been fed into a trap and I’m afraid of these people. I don’t want to be anywhere near them,” Purkhiser said as he attempted to make his case for a suspended sentence.

“I know I’ve been a little wrong, but I don’t feel I deserve 10 years,” he said. “I know my past doesn’t look good, but I can’t change it, I can only change the future.”

Purkhiser’s past includes a conviction in Georgia for assaulting his then-wife at a military base. He was initially charged with assault to commit murder before pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge. He was sentenced to time served and placed on probation for one year.

Later, Purkhiser was sentenced to one year in federal prison for violating his terms of release.

Lincoln County Attorney Marcia Boris sought a 10-year prison sentence with a parole restriction that would’ve meant Purkhiser would serve five years before being eligible for parole.

Scott B. Johnson, Purkhiser’s public defender, asked for a 3-year sentence to a state Department of Corrections facility with all time suspended with the exception of the 233 days he’s been in the county jail.

But Cuffe went with the harsher sentence, saying, “He’s a classic abuser and classic manipulator. He’s a danger to his victims and to the public.”

Purkhiser also said, “This is just not my fault. I’m getting knocked over the head. I don’t deserve 10 years, I don’t deserve this jail, this situation. I haven’t threatened her, I haven’t tried to get her to change her words and I didn’t know I was tampering with a witness.”

Purkhiser was found guilty on Saturday, June 16, by a jury of eight women and four men. They deadlocked on one felony count of partner or family member assault, third offense. Purkhiser was accused of assaulting a woman in January at a home on Silver Butte Road. According to court documents, Boris intends to retry Purkhiser on the assault charge. There will be a court hearing on Monday, Sept. 19, to determine the status of the case.

The case began in the early-morning hours of Jan. 22 when deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office headed to a Silver Butte Road home after receiving multiple 911 calls, one rather chaotic, according to court documents.

The first call came from a friend of the victim, who reported receiving text messages describing Purkhiser’s alleged violent behavior. She told dispatchers that the victim had locked herself in a bathroom after Purkhiser attacked her.

A second 911 call from the victim’s house consisted mostly of shouting, with dispatchers unable to speak with anyone on the line, court documents said.

When Purkhiser spoke with deputies, he denied any wrongdoing. He also denied engaging in domestic abuse in his past, which investigators later learned was false. According to court documents, Deputy James Derryberry found a 2012 domestic battery conviction out of Duval County, Fla. Court documents also list a 2019 assault with intent to murder conviction.

The victim, who was identified as Heather Harrison (AKA “Stamps”) after she called The Western News to dispute the details in an affidavit filed in district court, said Purkhiser twisted her arm behind her back after forcing his way into the bathroom after they argued about text messages on her phone in which he accused her of infidelity.

In an amended information, filed in district court on Feb. 22, Purkhiser was accused of continuing to contact Stamps from the county detention center. There were several calls between Feb. 3-13.

During the trial, Lincoln County Attorney Marcia Boris questioned Stamps about Purkhiser’s calls to her while he was in jail.

“I called his sister and told him to call me to talk about what happened and to get his stuff,” Stamps said.

One of the calls from jail was played for the jury. In it Stamps told Purkhiser “I don’t cheat. You’re violent and I’m putting your stuff in the car.

Purkhiser replied “I’m getting a restraining order.” Stamps then said “Do what you gotta do.”

Purkhiser then said “Heather, Heather, please talk to me.” At that point the call was disconnected.

When Purkhiser’s public defender Scott B. Johnson cross examined Stamps, he asked her if she had other conversations with the defendant and she said yes.

“I asked his sister to have him call me. I felt bad for him after she told me some things,” Stamps said.

Boris also called Lincoln County Justice of the Peace and Libby City Judge Jay Sheffield. She questioned him to determine if Purkhiser understood he was not allowed to contact Stamps.

Sheffield said Purkhiser told him he understood the conditions.

Purkhiser remains in the Lincoln County Detention Center until he is taken to prison.