Libby man headed to prison after new drug charges, probation violations

A Libby man is headed to prison in Montana after he was arrested on drug charges in Idaho and violated several terms of his probation.

Ty Reed Orsborn, 36, was originally charged and pleaded not guilty to felony assault on a minor and misdemeanor DUI on Sept. 19, 2022, in Lincoln County District Court.

He later pleaded guilty to an amended charge of misdemeanor partner or family member assault. The DUI charge was dropped as part of a deal with the County Attorney’s Office.

Orsborn was sentenced May 1, 2023, in Lincoln County District Court by District Judge Jason Marks. He received a six-month term with all but 24 hours suspended. He also received credit for serving 144 days in the county jail.

Orsborn was ordered to pay a $500 fine and complete 40 hours of anger management counseling by Sept. 1, 2023.

But during an Aug. 12 hearing, Orsborn admitted to the probation violations and Cuffe sentenced him to a 5-year term in the Montana State Prison. The sentence was agreed to by county attorney Marcia Boris and public defender Ben Kolter. Orsborn received credit 247 days, including 127 he served in the county jail.

Orsborn’s probation violations included being arrested on drug-related charges in Bonner County in May 2024. A plea deal is pending there.

His probation violations also included not maintaining contact with his probation officer, being fired from a job after failing to show up for work and failing to update his address.

According to the affidavit charging the initial offenses by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. John Davis, he was called to a Callahan Road residence in Troy on Aug. 28, 2022, for a disturbance between Orsborn and a 30-year-old woman. A 911 dispatcher said the caller was the woman’s son.

The dispatcher also told Davis that Orsborn and the woman had left the home and were possibly headed to his home in Libby. Davis saw the vehicle, a maroon Ford Explorer, traveling east on U.S. 2 near Kootenai Falls.

Davis reported that the vehicle swerved back and forth and he saw the passenger door open slightly while it travelled about 80 miles per hour. Davis stopped the vehicle and asked Orsborn to get out. The officer said he smelled alcohol on Orsborn. The defendant said he and the woman had left her home in Troy and were headed to Libby after arguing with her kids.

Davis said Orsborn told him the woman’s son had tried to pull a knife on them. The child’s mother said her son pulled a gun on them and she took it away from him. She said she also took a knife from the child. She said Orsborn slammed her son down on the couch after she took the knife from the child.

Sgt. Davis said he saw signs of impairment in Orsborn and a breath test showed a blood alcohol content of 0.11. After he was taken to the county Detention Center, another breath sample showed a 0.091 BAC.

Davis then traveled to the woman’s home and spoke with her after she got a ride home with a family member. She said Orsborn slapped her while they were in the vehicle before the traffic stop. She said it was no big deal and it didn’t hurt her.

Davis then spoke to the child who said Orsborn grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against a window frame. The child said he became mad, started to freak out and became scared. The child said he called 911 and his mother pulled Orsborn off of the child. The child also said he got a gun in an attempt to scare Orsborn to leave the house. He said the gun was in a case and he never took it out. His mother said the gun remained in the case. The child also said he got a knife to try and get Orsborn to leave the home because he was scared of him.

The child said he put the knife away after his grandmother told him to. Davis said the child had a red bump on his head and Troy Police Chief Katie Davis took a photo of the injury. The child also told Sgt. Davis that Orsborn threw his younger brother on the floor.

When Sgt. Davis spoke to the younger brother, he said he jumped on Orsborn’s back and put his arm around Orsborn’s neck to get him off his brother. The child said he was scared Orsborn was going to hurt his brother.

Sgt. Davis then spoke to the grandmother who allegedly said she saw Orsborn with his hands on the child in the kitchen and pushed him up against the sink. She said she got upset and left the room.