Libby man pleads guilty to criminal child endangerment

A Libby man facing criminal child endangerment charges for the second time in less than a decade pleaded guilty last week in Lincoln County District Court.

Steven Wayne Kelley, 52, initially pleaded not guilty in June in Lincoln County District Court to the endangerment charge and driving under the influence, third offense, with a child under 16 years of age.

Kelley’s plea was to the endangerment charge. The others were dropped after a plea deal between the county and defense.

He will be sentenced at a later date. 

According to charging documents in the case, deputy Brandon Huff got the call at nearly 10 p.m. May 22 for a crash with injuries on Swede Mountain Road. There he found a black Jeep Cherokee off of the road and in the trees. 

A 43-year-old man with blood on his forehead and face was near the vehicle. Kelley, a 12-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy were also present. Huff aided the injured man and spoke to the adults. Both men said Kelley was driving while both juveniles were in the back seat, according to court documents.

Huff smelled a strong alcohol odor on the injured man, but Kelley allegedly denied drinking. The officer said Kelley was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slow and deliberate with mild slurring. Huff said after Kelley put out a cigarette he was smoking, he could smell the odor of alcohol on him.

After an ambulance arrived and took the injured man and the 12-year-old girl, Huff confronted Kelley, asked him if he had been drinking and the defendant said he had been earlier that evening.

Kelley agreed to take some field sobriety tests, but refused to provide a breath sample, court documents said.

After a tow truck removed the Jeep and deputy Cody DeWitt took the 16-year-old boy home, Huff took Kelley to the county jail. A breath test there showed an alcohol content of 0.124.

According to Kelley’s criminal history, he has two convictions for DUI.

According to a 2015 story in The Western News, Kelley was charged with criminal child endangerment after an incident July 17, 2015, on U.S. 2 near mile marker 43. According to the charging document, Kelley admitted taking several prescription drugs while driving a vehicle with a 3-year-old child in the rear seat.

The story also said Kelley had a prior DUI conviction in 2004 in Columbia Falls.