Month: January 2023

by Travis Mateer

I was taking a trip down memory lane the other day at the blog I used to contribute to, 4&20 Blackbirds. I plugged the name KRAKAUER into the search function and found several posts, including this one highlighting the shout-out jhwygirl got during the RAPE book that upset Missoula so.

I clicked on the link to read the medium piece where the accolades originated from and thought it might be timely for a reminder about what Krakauer was looking into a decade ago, and what kind of writers were helping him expose what he ultimately wrote about. Let’s get started!

It didn’t take long to realize there is a big problem in Missoula, and it seems to be emanating from the prosecutor’s office. What was interesting about Allison was — this was as slam-dunk a case as you can get, and she had to fight so hard. It was so traumatizing for her to get the prosecutors to take the case seriously and not just give the guy a slap on the wrist. And I thought how that was one of the more interesting parts of the book, to see how hard it is even in a case like that to get any kind of accountability, justice, retribution, whatever you want to call it.

It seemed obvious, then, that once I learned about Allison I should write about these series of assaults.

Yes, Krakauer came and wrote about the BIG problem with the criminal justice system in Missoula, and he wrote about where he thought the problem emanated from, but I’m here to tell you, dear readers, that Krakauer didn’t finish the job, so now I have a question: are we going to finish this ourselves, or does another national writer need to parachute in with a big time publisher to slap us around again because we don’t want to face up to what’s STILL FUCKING HAPPENING?

The echoes and parallels and repeat characters in the cases I have pin-balling around in my brain right now are almost too crazy to believe. I have to double check that I’m reading stuff from a decade ago and NOT notes from one my current journals. Let’s continue with Krakauer’s perspective on our CURRENT Head County Attorney, Kirsten Pabst (emphasis mine):

One of the things that Pabst did that bothered me, when she was cross-examining [David] Lisak (he was the expert witness talking about trauma, its effect on brain chemistry at the Jordan Johnson trial) she opened by pointing out: you were sexually assaulted, don’t you think that makes you…you’re on a crusade?

[Lisak] knows the defense attorney’s job is to do whatever they can to win and they have no compunction to cross the lines, but about a year later in his home I asked him about it, and he said that’s the first time a defense attorney ever brought up him being sexually assaulted himself.

While Pabst’s behavior here is disgusting, the reality is a victim is FORCED to approach the path to justice in Missoula AS IF on a holy crusade. Why? Because the path is so onerous and re-traumatizing, some victims probably come to view their original sexual assault as being LESS traumatizing than what Detectives and County Attorneys are STILL doing to survivors.

I’m not just making this up, I have a very specific case in mind, and very specific people who have said and done very specific, very documented things. And these people need a BIG dose of accountability to figuratively smack them upside the head before more people are unnecessarily hurt.

So, who helps bring that accountability? A decade ago it was an anonymous blogger by wrote under the pseudonym, jhwygirl, and this is what Jon Krakauer had to say about her back then (emphasis mine):

I gotta say since some of you are bloggers: I’m a big fan. I was able to get those posts [from Kirsten Pabst] because a blogger in Montana has this killer blog, and that’s where I got this. She archived them unofficially. She’s impressive. I have no idea how many readers/followers she has, but she’s this thorn in the side of Missoula county officials, and it’s people like her that keep them honest. I think it would be easy to ignore someone like that if you’re some official, or think you can ignore it, but you can’t, with the world as it is and the internet as it is.

It’s a sad indictment of legacy media that a blogger like jhwygirl, or myself, have to be the ones to call-out the arrogant wielding of power and to look at what is hiding behind the flailing. In Missoula what’s still occluded is disturbing.

While Lee Nelson’s murder trial is officially concluded, I learned what I needed to learn during the trial, and the work continues. If you appreciate what you’re learning from my work, please consider making a donation at my about page.

Thank you for reading.

by Travis Mateer

I wasn’t expecting to see the defense attorneys returning to the Missoula County Courthouse at 2pm because I wasn’t expecting the jury to only take 2 1/2 hours to arrive at a verdict, but they did, and the verdict is in: Charles Michael Covey has been found GUILTY of deliberate homicide in the beating death of Leroy Nelson on November 20th, 2020. Covey was also found guilty of a second charge of evidence tampering.

I’ll have more to say about the result of this trial soon. For now, I’m going to take a shower to see if I can get this filth off.

Thanks for caring.

by Travis Mateer

The first witness to take the stand on Wednesday for the defense in the Lee Nelson murder trial was Kristy Pszanowski, a staff member for the Poverello Center who had my job coordinating the Homeless Outreach Team when Nelson was murdered on November 20th, 2020. Here’s Kristi on the stand next to the image of a man she claimed, with 80% certainty, was Joe Page:

Who is Joe Page, you might be asking? In 2018, Joe Page was an unregistered violent offender facing felony charges for meth possession. He also likes the color red, sometimes talks to “wall fairies”, and can flip out for no discernible reason. Despite being subpoenaed, Page wasn’t located in time for the murder trial. I wonder what this good friend of Jason “Junior” Medgar would have said about where he was on the day of November 20th, 2020?

Another person who took the stand yesterday used to live on “The Island” at the Reserve Street homeless camps, where Joe Page and his “brother”, Jason Edgar, would sometimes reside. Known on the street as “Shadow”, he gave testimony about homeless living, generally, and a specific interaction he had with Jason Edgar on the day after the homicide, which was a Saturday.

Shadow talked at length about living rough at the Reserve Street camps, where he acted as the unofficial Mayor during the pandemic, when active sites went from 17 to over 190, according to Mayor Shadow. He also mentioned how the Sheriff’s Office would regularly stop by, bringing supplies and checking in on campers. Campers like Kevin Sandberg and John Cave, pictured below.

Cave and Sandberg aren’t a part of this case, but they ARE a part of the camp culture Shadow describes, where everyone carries weapons and you don’t know who might be hallucinating from days of sleepless tweaking.

To give you a better idea of what homeless camp life is like in Missoula, here’s a short video I found on Shadow’s Facebook page:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/790695352?h=b2b7cab635&badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479

This encampment is where I first met Shadow during the summer of 2020. Back then I was hopeful Shadow might help me understand what REALLY happened to Sean Stevenson, since he claimed to have inside information, including the identity of the nurse who supposedly walked out of the hospital room before Sean was removed from life support by a Missoula County Sheriff Deputy acting as the coroner.

I still don’t have the name of that nurse, but I DO have other information that may or may not be helpful in understanding what the fuck is happening in this town.

What the fuck happened in court yesterday? The defense put Detective Guy Baker on the stand as a hostile witness and the verdict of innocence or guilt against Charles Michael Covey depends on whether or not the jury believes Guy Baker conducted an honest, competent investigation. That’s the short of it, but I’ll have more to say during Sunday’s Week in Review.

At the end of court yesterday the motion to dismiss gave me a preview of what closing statements from both sides might look like, so I’m anticipating the jury will be told by Missoula County prosecutor, Mac Bloom, that Covey gave a FULL CONFESSION, but when I heard Bloom use that phrase, I had to think back…did he? Because I don’t recall Detective Guy Baker getting a confession in his initial interview with Covey. No, getting a confession became the noble job of fellow inmates, a pattern of letting others do the dirty work I’m starting to sense is just a characteristic of Baker’s “leadership” style.

After sitting in court for seven work days watching all the same evidence the jury saw presented, I can’t say Charles Covey is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and that’s making me sick to my fucking stomach. And angry. The last thing I want is doubt about who is responsible for ending Lee Nelson’s life in such a brutal manner because I already have TOO MUCH doubt about the integrity of entire institutions in this town. My plate is full, is what I’m saying.

Maybe a not guilty verdict, if it happens, will cause enough concern about how this investigation was potentially compromised to warrant scrutiny into OTHER things Guy Baker is connected to, like the LifeGuard Group, an anti-trafficking outfit conspicuously NOT mentioned by Sergeant Prather in that County Commissioner created podcast called Tip of the Spear. Since this episode is specifically about Missoula County anti-trafficking resources, and the LifeGuard Group is directly tied to the Sheriff’s Office, I can’t imagine WHY Prather omits this supposed resource for victims of trafficking.

That last part is sarcasm because YES I CAN imagine why Prather seems to go out of his way to NOT reference the LifeGuard Group. The hidden wheels of political expediency are churning at absurdly high levels right now and those who still have things like paychecks to lose are getting squeamish.

To help me feel less squeamish about my life choices you can visit my about page and make a financial contribution. Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

When you talk to people about the mental health crisis visible on the streets of America, you’ll often hear about the fabled de-institutionalization that occurred during the Reagan years, but it’s really not that simple. Despite how costly and problematic institutionalized care is, I’d like the BIPARTISAN supporters of House Bill 29 (PDF) to explain what the community alternatives are.

I get why there’s bipartisan support for ending involuntary committals to Montana’s State Hospital for people with conditions like Alzheimers, but local options for appropriate skilled nursing facilities are declining, so what the hell is going to happen if a bill like this passes? From the link (emphasis mine):

State lawmakers from both parties have shown support for a plan to stop the practice of committing people with Alzheimer’s disease, other types of dementia, or traumatic brain injuries without their consent to the troubled Montana State Hospital and instead direct them to treatment in their communities.

To highlight how insane this is, a Daily Montanan article from last August describes the state-wide decline in nursing care beds. From the link:

In the past six months, Montana has lost approximately 10 percent of its nursing home beds throughout the state as seven nursing homes have announced they are closing because they can’t continue to sustain a loss of more than $100 per day on each resident.

The problem, which has been most pronounced in rural communities, is creeping into some of the state’s largest cities. Bozeman has seen its largest nursing home provider close, leaving just one facility with a maximum capacity of 69 beds to serve the community, which is experiencing explosive growth, averaging 3 percent per year, or adding nearly 3,000 people annually.

I’m viscerally aware of this deplorable situation for Montana’s aging population with cognitive issues, having worked at Missoula Aging Services for three years in their call center, and before that, seven years at the homeless shelter where I saw plenty of people with dementia conditions and brain injuries show up after being kicked out of local nursing homes.

Since Montana, as a state, is acutely terrible at protecting aging adults with cognitive issues, I am actually quite happy another terrible bill that sounds well-intentioned, but would be a disaster, got tabled before wasting more legislative time than necessary.

For new legislators who took their sads to Twitter over this mean move by Republicans, let me explain something: Red Flag laws just aren’t going to fly in Montana. From the link:

House Bill 202, sponsored by Rep. Ed Stafman, D-Bozeman, is a “red flag” bill — a policy that allows for a court to order that an individual surrender their firearms if a family member, partner or law enforcement agency can make the case that the person presents a danger to themselves or others.

The bill would establish “extreme risk orders of protection” allowing a district court to prohibit a person from purchasing or possessing a firearm during the duration of the order. The language, Stafman said, is modeled after the federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a gun safety and mental health services law Congress passed in 2022. The BSCA, among other provisions, includes grants to help states implement extreme risk protection order programs as long as strict due process rights are followed.

Before Ed Stafman gives MORE power to law enforcement (like Mineral County Sheriff, Ryan Funke) let’s maybe take a look at how their current capabilities are being exercised, or not. That’s what I was thinking as I read this article and the example given for why this law is supposedly needed.

One member of the public, Erin Harris, tearfully shared the story of her father as he slipped into dementia.

He would aim his guns at imaginary ghosts “who were oftentimes innocent people,” she testified before the committee. But Harris said her family was told they could not receive guardianship over her father until he committed a crime, which eventually occurred during a drunk driving incident.

“An extreme risk protection order would have given my family and I the opportunity to safely intercede and get professional medical help for our father,” she told the committee.

I am actually familiar with scenarios like these, where someone with cognitive decline is exhibiting behaviors that make them a danger to themselves, or others, yet families are often told by those in authority that there is nothing they can do until crimes are committed. Even WHEN crimes are committed, those without capacity to stand trial can find themselves riding the revolving door merry-go-round.

The link above is an article that includes a quote from one of the defense attorneys currently defending Charles Michael Covey in the Lee Nelson murder trial. Here is Daylon Martin referencing the unrealistic expectations when it comes to community care:

Daylon Martin, a Great Falls defense attorney, said that if clients whose charges were dropped because of an illness are hospitalized, their discharge is often the end of their care. “People just get released back into the community with the expectation they’ll take their medication,” Martin said. “There needs to be a better transition.”

The state-run hospital has long had a waitlist. Dr. Virginia Hill, a recently retired psychiatrist who worked at the Montana State Hospital for more than 35 years, told lawmakers this spring that a typical stay is two to four weeks, “a short commitment in the big scheme of things when you’ve been charged with a very serious felony.” She said that a patient typically leaves the hospital with medicine in hand and local appointments booked but that the patient then exits the system.

“That is the revolving-door population that we have,” Hill said. “The charges are dismissed, and out they go. And they’re usually pretty ill.”

I would love to see the system improved for everyone involved, but the legislative fixes being proposed aren’t going to improve things unless REAL money is dedicated to building REAL community capacity.

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Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

When you are a 501(c)(3) organization accepting charitable donations in order to assist victims of human trafficking recover in an idyllic mountain location called the LifeHouse at Crooked Tree Ranch, there are forms to fill out, and those forms are publicly accessible through websites like GuideStar.

After signing up to access the LifeGuard Group’s most recent filing, I scrolled through the 990 form. How is our many-hatted man of action, Lowell Hochhalter, doing with his dream of saving women from the clutches of their traffickers? Not bad, as the financials show.

While the numbers are interesting, the thing that got my attention is how this group is still just in the process of opening that safe house in the Bitterroot. Here is the language from the 990 form:

Now, since I’ve never operated a safe house for victims of human trafficking, I can’t really say how long it takes to get a place like this ready to open, but according to Lowell Hochhalter in this video on Facebook, the property closed in February of 2021. In the video, Hochhalter commemorates this proud day by trying on his new pair of RANCH boots (not cowboy boots, he already has a pair of those).

In the video, Lowell is VERY inviting to anyone who wants to come out to the ranch to help get it ready for its first victim. If you are a pastor, says Lowell, we will cook you steak. Isn’t this exciting? Isn’t it amazing a GENEROUS donor stepped up at the “11th hour” to make Lowell’s dreams come true? So, when will it be ready?

Over a year later, in March of 2022, the Bitterroot Star did a story about this alleged safe house. From the link (emphasis mine):

“Human trafficking is alive and well in Montana,” says Lowell Hochhalter, CEO of the LifeGuard Group, a non-profit organizaton that works to end human trafficking. Very soon the Bitterroot Valley will be home to a safe house where former victims can safely rebuild their lives. The LifeGuard Group is readying LifeHouse at Crooked Tree Ranch which, in its initial stages, will accommodate up to six women.

I called up the paper and got my first, faint impression that the LifeHouse MIGHT be open and serving victims of human trafficking, but to substantiate this the person I spoke with urged me to find more confirmation. I agreed, explaining my doubt that this safe house is actually open after speaking with a reporter in Missoula who is NOT getting responses from the LifeGuard Group about what’s happening, or not happening, in the Bitterroot at Crooked Tree Ranch.

To see what is being CLAIMED is happening, here are some screenshots from the LifeHouse website:

I added emphasis on the equine therapy because it’s not just the LifeHouse offering those services. I have information about another equine therapy program connected to the LifeGuard Group, but we’re not ready for that quite yet.

To wrap this post up, it would be great to know HOW MANY victims of human trafficking the LifeHouse at Crooked Tree Ranch has served IF it’s open. I mean, wouldn’t now be a GREAT time to champion the work being done by this anti-trafficking group with ties to Montana’s Governor? With the legislative session gaining steam (and losing legislators), and a BILLION in change being eyed hungrily by all kinds of organizations, I would think this definitely would be an ideal time to describe the GOOD WORK being done.

Unless, of course, that work is NOT being done. Maybe extenuating circumstances developed, something unforeseen that impacted the SAFETY of the safe house. Could what’s happening behind the scenes be connected to the postponement of former Sheriff, T.J. McDermott’s, Mayoral announcement? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

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Thanks for reading!