by Travis Mateer

A recent meth arrest caught my attention because I immediately knew it was NOT retaliation. I mean, why would it be? Just because Zoe Tate took the stand in a coroner’s inquest examining the shooting death of Johnny Lee Perry, which was definitely NOT a state-sanctioned execution, doesn’t mean her meth arrest a little over a month later is connected in any way.

According to this report from KGVO, Tate was pulling out of the Hellgate Trading post without headlights on when a Missoula County Sheriff Corporal saw this and pulled her over. One of my first questions, upon seeing exactly WHERE this arrest took place (6265 Mullan Road), is whether or not the location of this arrest is within CITY limits, or COUNTY.

This distinction is important. For example, when I tried holding State Rep. Danny Tenenbaum accountable for secretly recording inside Crosspoint Church, I was told the case would be sent to the city, which confused me, since my understanding of where city limits ended placed Crosspoint Church clearly in the County. Where Zoe Tate got arrested is closer to city limits than Crosspoint Church.

Regardless of jurisdiction, here is the result of Tate’s actions:

On June 5, 2022, at around 11:44 p.m., a Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Corporal observed a Subaru pulling out of the Old Hellgate Trading Post gas pumps without any headlights on. The corporal activated his emergency lights and the vehicle pulled over. He made contact with the driver, 26-year-old Zoe Tate, and informed her why he had stopped her.

Zoe appeared nervous, fidgety, and questioned her headlights working but admitted that it was very dim. There was one other passenger in the car. Both individuals came back to be on felony probation for drugs and suspended licenses. The corporal read to Zoe the consent to search card and she signed the card agreeing to allow him to search her car.

The vehicle Zoe was driving was not registered to her and had fictitious plates on the car. She said she had purchased it months ago and needed to get it registered. The corporal found a baggy of suspected methamphetamine next to her stereo display that was clearly visible from where Zoe was sitting in the driver’s seat.

The reporting of this incident is pretty standard, so far. But then Nick Chrestenson’s reporting takes some interesting language from “court documents”:

The corporal called Zoe back over to her car and advised her of her Miranda rights. Court documents indicate Zoe became panic stricken and became emotional and a bit dramatic asking if she was going to jail. The corporal asked Zoe about the suspected meth. Zoe denied it at first but with a few more questions admitted that she had just bought it tonight for a friend. Zoe said she paid $250.00 for the product. When asked about providing it for a friend, Zoe then changed her story and said she bought it for personal use. Zoe was placed under arrest.

Hmmmmmm, let me see if I can put Zoe Tate’s EMOTIONAL reaction into more context than KGVO’s Nick Chrestenson is capable of.

On August 29th, 2021, Zoe Tate was living in a camper off the Southside road when Johnny Lee Perry got the law called on him by a sketchy dude named Jack Maxvill. After about a half hour, law enforcement got tired of watching Johnny swing around his machete (or was it Jack’s?), so they closed in, popped him a few times with “non-lethal” rounds, then finished the job by shooting him in the back as he ran away.

Sometimes I wonder what might happen in this community if the help that is claimed for people with addiction issues actually existed. Even crazier, what if CONSEQUENCES existed?

Johnny Lee Perry, for those who haven’t followed my coverage over the last two and half years, was the alleged assailant in the death of Sean Stevenson. You can learn more about that case by listening to my interview with Sean’s sisters, Jejchelle and Angela.

For allegedly beating and strangulating Sean Stevenson to the point of unconsciousness (sending him to the hospital where he was later removed from life support WITHOUT his family being notified first), Johnny spent less time in jail than Zoe Tate already has, and he most definitely didn’t have a high bond.

Before booking Tate into County lockup, her meth was weighed on TWO scales, hers and the Sheriff’s. I’m glad the Missoula County Sheriff’s Department has scales handy for weighing meth (emphasis mine):

During a search incident to arrest the corporal took all of the items out of Zoe’s pockets. There was a black digital scale in her back pocket and a small purse in her hoody with about ten unused small baggies commonly used for packaging methamphetamine into gram or half gram quantities.

The corporal later weighed the methamphetamine on both a scale from the Sheriff’s office, and the scale from Zoe’s pocket. It was a total package weight of 11.4 grams. The product did test presumptive positive for methamphetamine.

So, in summary, the arrest of Zoe Tate definitely has nothing to do with her testimony on the stand in the shooting death of Johnny Lee Perry, and the Missoula County Sheriff Corporal who IS NOT NAMED should be commended for getting a whopping 11.4 grams of meth off the streets.

I know I feel safer with this dangerous criminal behind bars! Good job Missoula County Sheriff’s Office!

Thanks for reading!