Libby felon gets prison time he hoped to avoid

A career criminal from Libby who hoped for acceptance in treatment court will instead spend time in prison after a hearing last month in Lincoln County District Court.

Guy Eric Waldron, 45, struck a plea deal in December with the Lincoln County Attorney's Office after he was arrested on methamphetamine possession charges.

On Feb. 13, District Judge Matt Cuffe sentenced Waldron to five years, two suspended, to a Montana Department of Corrections facility.

“I think you need treatment in a secure facility,” Cuffe said to Waldron while delivering the sentence.

Waldron sought acceptance to the county’s treatment court, but was denied. He did have the option of withdrawing his plea deal with the county, but opted not to. Waldron’s attorney, Charles S. Sprinkle sought a 5-year suspended sentence, saying his client believed he could complete treatment without incarceration. Lincoln County Attorney Marcia Boris said the county didn’t believe a suspended sentence was enough to meet his needs.

Waldron told the court he was concerned with being placed in a state facility where he believed he may be the target of retaliation due to his previous cooperation with authorities on other cases. He believes his life will be in jeopardy no matter where he is incarcerated.

Waldron said he previously assisted federal law enforcement in cases against Preston Rossbach and Wes Charlo.

According to Montana State Prison information, Rossbach is serving a 60-year sentence at the Crossroads Correctional Facility in Shelby after being convicted of two counts of deliberate homicide in 2020 for his role in the shooting deaths of two people at a Missoula motel in 2018.

Charlo is lodged in the Great Falls Transition Center, according to information from the state. He has multiple convictions dating from 1997 to 2020 for offenses ranging from aggravated assault to criminal possession of dangerous drugs with the intent to distribute.

“I’ve been here three months and I’m trying to do things different than before in my life,” Waldron said during his sentencing. I believe I have a job and a house with very good support in Deer Lodge.”

Cuffe told Waldron he would inform the Department of Corrections of the defendant’s concerns.

Waldron was initially charged with robbery, assault with a weapon, theft and criminal endangerment after two separate incidents on July 24.

In November, Waldron was arrested again on charges of felony methamphetamine possession and two misdemeanors, including DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia, after an odd incident on U.S. 2 between Libby and Troy.

Waldron pleaded not guilty to all four charges in the July incidents, but on Dec. 12, he pleaded guilty to possessing meth. Part of Waldron's deal included the dismissal of all charges in the July incidents and the misdemeanors in the November incident.

Waldron was free after posting $75,000 bail on the robbery, assault and endangerment charges and $10,000 bail on the theft charge on July 30. But he remains in the Lincoln County Detention Center on the most recent charge.

Waldron was facing the possibility of decades in prison if convicted off all offenses. The maximum penalty for a robbery conviction is 40 years in the Montana State Prison. For assault with a weapon, it’s 20 years and for criminal endangerment and theft, it’s 10 years each.

According to the narrative by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Smith, Lincoln County Dispatch advised him of a traffic complaint at about 7:45 a.m. on Nov. 22 on U.S. 2.

Smith headed east and met with a concerned citizen who said a vehicle in front of her was driving 35 mph and didn’t allow her to pass. Smith encountered the vehicle nearby, reported it was driving 53 mph with several vehicles behind it. Smith reported the vehicle didn’t have any headlights or taillights illuminated.

Smith wrote that he turned on his emergency lights and turned around. He said the vehicle was stopped in the westbound lane before it backed up into the eastbound lane and drove forward into the opposite direction of westbound traffic. It then stopped, facing east in the westbound lane, just over the fog line.

Smith thought the driver, later identified as Waldron, was having a medical emergency or was under the influence. When Smith made contact with Waldron the officer reported the defendant was making excited utterances and acting in a manner that was consistent with individuals under the influence.

Smith asked Waldron why he made a U-turn in the middle of the road. He said, “Do you remember when I told you I was getting (expletive) gang stalked and people were (expletive) impersonating each other.”

Smith wrote that because he knew Waldron from previous encounters, knew he could be violent toward officers and was told by dispatch that he had an “Officer Caution” noted in his profile, he decided to handcuff Waldron while he investigated the incident.

Smith wrote that he asked Waldron where he was going and he said he was, “going to work on his (expletive) truck.” When asked where his truck was, Waldron allegedly said, “up at Bob Payne’s,” which Smith said he knew to be in Libby despite Waldron driving toward Troy.

Later, Waldron allegedly agreed to being searched by Smith. The search turned up a vial of a substance which field tested positive for methamphetamine, according to Smith. He then removed an uncapped needle from his back pocket and handed it to Troy Chief of Police Kate Davis, who was assisting at the scene.

Smith also added a statement from the woman who made the 911 call. She described erratic driving, the vehicle swerving off and on the road, passing her while driving 65 mph to 70 mph, then slowing to 35 mph.

According to charging documents in the case last summer, a man came to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office on the evening of July 24 to report Waldron had allegedly taken his 2001 Chevy Suburban due to what the defendant termed was a “family emergency.” The alleged victim said he hadn’t given Waldron permission to take the vehicle, but had left the keys in it. He said Waldron lives near him on Parmenter Avenue. The man also said he let Waldron borrow some tools, but never returned them.

After his investigation, Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Breiland determined Waldron had allegedly pawned the tools.

Breiland then began to search for the vehicle. When he drove past the alleged victim’s residence, he saw the Suburban parked there. Breiland went to talk with the man, who was in the process of calling to report the vehicle had been returned.

The man also said his vehicle smelled “really bad” because Waldon had left his dirty socks inside.

While Breiland was speaking to the alleged victim, Waldron and his girlfriend, Mariah Youso, rode by the house on their bicycles. Deputy Anthony Jenson, who had arrived to assist in the investigation, spoke with Waldron. Breiland said Waldron claimed that he had called law enforcement several times about “being chased.” He said he never heard anything back about his complaints. Waldron allegedly told the officers that law enforcement and other groups are stalking him to set him up.

While speaking about the Suburban, Waldron said the alleged victim had given him permission to take the vehicle, according to the court document. Waldron said he took the vehicle at 6 a.m. on July 24 and drove to Missoula to “speak to an individual.”

Waldron then rode away on his bicycle.

Breiland then spoke to the alleged victim, who said he was worried Waldron would be at his house in the morning banging on the door. He also said “there would be problems from here on out because Waldron is “really unstable.”

Later that day, at about 10:31 p.m. on July 24, Libby Police Officer Ronald Buckner received a report about a different man being pistol whipped, allegedly by Waldron.

The alleged victim said Waldron ordered him to get on the ground and give him his money. He said when he refused, Waldron struck him on the left side of his face with the grip of the gun, according to court documents.

According to a 2010 story in The Western News, Waldron received a federal prison sentence in 2008 after pleading guilty to selling stolen guns and using meth.

After his release, Waldron got more prison time for violating his release conditions after using meth, missing drug tests and not finding a job.

According to court documents, Waldron was sentenced to prison for forgery in 1996 in Flathead County. In 2005, he received a five-year sentence to the Department of Corrections for using meth and other violations that revoked his original sentence.