Libby man headed to prison following sentence revocation

A 54-year-old Libby man will do time in a state facility following a revocation on a previous conviction.

Steven Wayne Kelley was charged with witness tampering earlier this year after alcohol was provided to multiple juveniles and an assault occurred to another individual.

Kelley pleaded not guilty to the charges April 28 in Lincoln County District Court, but on Monday, July 28, he admitted to violating his release conditions following a 2024 conviction in a child endangerment case. Kelley pleaded guilty in August 2024 and received a 5-year suspended sentence Oct. 21, 2024. 

While the witness tampering case was dropped in a plea deal, Kelley was sentenced to five years with no time suspended. He did receive credit for serving 165 days in the county jail. 

Judge Matt Cuffe said Kelley would be recommended for Connections Corrections Program in Butte.

County Attorney Marcia Boris previously said Kelley violated three conditions, including not remaining law-abiding, failure to get substance abuse evaluation and completing a parenting class. Kelley made no admissions at the time.

According to the charging document in the most recent case, on March 31, an alleged assault victim informed Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies that Kelley had shown up to the residence to discuss the incident on Wednesday, March 26, which involved multiple juveniles, alcohol consumption and an assault on the victim.

Kelley was a suspect in the case as he and others allegedly provided juveniles with alcohol. 

Deputies spoke with the victim, who said Kelley talked with him at his residence and said he was not aware of the assault as he was sleeping and his wife purchased the alcohol and other alcohol was retrieved from his vehicle without permission. 

According to the victim, Kelley was adamant about not returning to prison. The victim said they did not believe Kelley’s story. 

According to court documents, another witness from the incident was also contacted to dispute the facts. The witness said he felt the contact was inappropriate and they feared Kelley or his associates could cause harm to the witness if he cooperated with deputies.

The witness said that Kelley told him the same story about his wife purchasing the alcohol and that he was asleep.

Kelley also called the authorities and said someone else had retrieved the alcohol. Kelley’s wife also called and said she purchased the alcohol.

According to court documents, deputies believed these actions were illegal due to Kelley specifically contacting the victim and a witness, while making different statements compared to them, and shifting blame to someone else. 

Other people at the incident said they were prevented by the Kelleys from contacting law enforcement. Kelley’s wife told authorities they did that because “we didn’t want to get in trouble.”

Nearly a year ago, Kelley pleaded guilty to felony child endangerment following a May 22 crash on Swede Mountain Road. County deputy Brandon Huff 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. A breath test indicated 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.