Criminal charges stacking up for Libby man

Criminal charges are mounting for a Libby man with a troubled past.

Daniel James Devine, 42, was back in Lincoln County District Court Dec. 2 for a hearing on whether he violated his probation from a 2023 case when he assaulted his wife. Charging documents say he placed his arm around her neck from behind, pulled and bent her backward for a duration, causing the woman to feel dizzy and lightheaded before he released her.

A plea deal reduced the charge to a misdemeanor and Devine got a one-year sentence with all but one day suspended.

The alleged probation violation includes charges from Wheatland County where federal and local authorities are investigating Devine.

A warrant for Devine’s arrest was discussed during the hearing, but District Judge Matt Cuffe quashed it following an argument by the accused’s attorney, Ben Kolter.

Kolter maintained Devine had traveled 600 miles to make the hearing in Lincoln County and said he didn’t believe Devine had missed any previous hearings.

For the state, county Attorney Marcia Boris wanted the warrant to stay in place.

“We recently learned Mr. Devine was living in Wheatland County and we’re not sure if he had permission to move,” Boris said.

Part of the probation terms included notifying and receiving permission to move.

Cuffe said he, “Was uncomfortable holding him while other violations are looked for.”

Devine faces more serious charges in Wheatland County where he appeared Dec. 5.

Devine was accused of felony theft and felony tampering with evidence. At the second hearing, he was accused of felony possession of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

In the probable cause statement by Wheatland County Sheriff’s Deputy David Walden, a search of a property at 511 East Division St., Harlowton, rented by Devine and his wife, Bobbie, turned up various amounts of dangerous drugs and paraphernalia.

The dangerous drugs included methamphetamine. Also found during the search were several firearms, two pistols, a bolt action rifle and various boxes of ammunition. There was also a compound bow with broadhead-tipped arrows, items Devine isn’t allowed to possess due to court-ordered prohibitions and restrictions.

According to the statement, Bobbie Devine remained in the home.

Devine is scheduled to appear Jan. 9 in Wheatland County District Court while his next hearing in Lincoln County was set for early January.

In the narrative attached to Devine’s probation revocation, U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Zachary Norris and Deputy McKenna got a report of an alleged attempt to post public property and a public road in the Judith-Musselshell Ranger District on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest on the southeast side of the Little Belt Mountains.

They began their investigation on Nov. 10 and found an illegally built road and a two-story tin shed outhouse with a roof and vinyl siding. A homemade camper was also at the site. Officer Norris reported seeing the camper in May near an old dam in Haymaker Canyon.

The officers didn’t find Devine that day, but left a business card at a nearby camp and soon received a phone call about Devine’s whereabouts.

The federal officers met with Wheatland County Sheriff Everett Melsner and Undersheriff Randy Cameron and devised a plan to go back to the illegal campsite. After leaving the meeting in Harlowton, Officer Norris was driving north on Highway 191 when he saw a Chevy Silverado truck leaving a local rock shop. It matched the description of the truck associated with the campsite.

Norris ran a record check on the license plate and it showed the truck was registered to Devine and Roy Keaton Deshner of Choteau. The license plate didn’t match the number in the registration.

Norris then asked Forest Service officer Dittman in Kalispell to speak to the registered owner of the homemade camper. The man, Gerald Bloom, is a fabricator who has built and registered two homemade trailers that he hasn’t seen in about a year. The man said his ex-girlfriend, Patty McClain, had the trailers at one point. He also said the woman’s mother, Linda Taylor, could have had the trailer at some point. The builder said his ex-girlfriend wouldn’t tell the truth about the trailer and he was trying to get it back before hunting season began. The man said he didn’t know Devine or Deshner and reported the trailers, valued at a total of $4,000, stolen to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

Devine’s criminal past includes a 2008 case in Flathead County where he and two other men from Marion were charged with felony malicious intimidation or harassment relating to civil or human rights.

A Daily Inter Lake story reported that Flathead County prosecutors allege Edward Lee Hubbs, Devine and Karl Trent were among a group of men who assaulted a group of Laotian, Cambodian and Thai morel mushroom pickers at the Moose Crossing campground in Marion.

Hubbs, who pleaded no contest, served a 10-day suspended jail term and Trent, who pleaded guilty, served a 30-day deferred sentence.

Devine pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a suspended 10-day jail term.