Month: January 2023

by Travis Mateer

I’ve been paying close attention as the state makes its case against Charles Michael Covey, so the answer to the question posed in the title of this post probably won’t be as simple as murder cases go to experienced detectives, and Guy Baker has been doing his job for 33 years. That said, I can’t rightly say WHY Baker got this case yet, just how.

When the 911 call came in from the nurse, Dorothy, Officer JC Denton was first on the scene, but it was ultimately Detective Sergeant Rick Stevenson who tapped Detective Guy Baker to take the lead. Is it because Guy Baker has cross-jurisdictional access through his quasi-FBI role? Since “transients” are by definition cross-border drifters (note: many of the homeless DO NOT fit this description), it makes sense that an experienced Detective with specific anti-trafficking interests via his advocacy of the LifeGuard Group would be selected for this job.

While the trial continued yesterday, the anti-trafficking posturing was in full peacock-mode in our state Capitol, as evidenced by the headlines.

From the link (emphasis mine):

Despite a growing tally of law enforcement investigations, no one has ever been convicted under Montana’s human trafficking statute.

A bill proposed to state lawmakers on Wednesday would theoretically give prosecutors a better chance to secure those convictions, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told the House Judiciary Committee. Knudsen, former Republican Speaker of House, said the measure is one of his top legislative priorities this session.

“We really haven’t attacked the demand side of what is ultimately an economic problem,” Knudsen said. “These traffickers would not be in Montana trying to do business if there were not a demand for human trafficking victims.”

Yes, there is a DEMAND side to trafficking. I’m glad our Attorney General realizes this. And hilariously, that demand seems to increase during large events, like legislators doing their heavy legislating. Here’s another quote, and more of MY emphasis if the implication isn’t clear enough:

Knudsen said the department’s human trafficking investigations have increased 871% since 2015.

“Does this mean we have more human trafficking happening in Montana now? I actually don’t believe so,” he told the committee. “I think this is a crime that’s always been here, we just didn’t know what it was and frankly we were a little scared to talk about it.”

He said DOJ agents have been able to track online activity related to human trafficking that tend to follow large events in Montana. Sometimes that can be sports events, he said. That online activity has also come to Helena around the time thousands gather here for the legislative session, Knudsen said.

Reading this alarming article, I’m now thinking that it may be a TERRIBLE LOSS that such a high-caliber Detective like Guy Baker is being assigned a mere transient case when he should be in Helena RIGHT NOW sussing out where that demand might be spiking.

I’m sure my opinion of this case will evolve as more information is presented to the jurors, information like how this guy pictured below got eliminated as a suspect.

It’s difficult to talk about sex trafficking without the intermingled reality of drug trafficking, and Jason Edgars seems a bit familiar with the latter, as evidenced by this KGVO article from April of 2021. From the link:

On Tuesday, an off duty Missoula Police Department officer observed 28-year-old Jason Edgar Jr. near the Economy West Trailer Court on West Broadway. The officer recognized Edgar from prior contacts and knew Edgar had an outstanding felony arrest warrant.

A responding officer placed Edgar under arrest and transported him to the detention facility. A detention officer conducted a routine inventory search of Edgar’s backpack. The detention officer located two small baggies of methamphetamine, two glass pipes, and metal pipe cleaning tools with burnt residue on them.

I hope to provide a more detailed account of what I’ve seen this week, and that account might be in the form of a podcast episode. Through some serious technical persistence that I only observed from a distance while strumming a Ukulele, my shit appears to be functioning as intended. Thank you!

Now, these platforms I’m using aren’t the free kind, so please consider making a donation at my about page if you are able, and stay tuned for more to come.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

I didn’t expect to be confronted with the scenario the Stevenson family was DENIED by the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office/Coroner during the jury selection portion of Lee Nelson’s murder trial, but I’m not surprised.

Lee Nelson was staying at the Poverello Center before he was brutally murdered, the same homeless shelter where Sean Stevenson was rendered unconscious, then resuscitated, only to be REMOVED from life support by the Missoula County Coroner BEFORE Sean’s family could be notified. When I tell people this they wonder how something like this could happen. It’s now year THREE and I don’t have a good answer for them.

To explain the concept of BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT to the giant courtroom full of prospective jurors, the defense attorney used the example of preparing to take a family member off of life support, as in you would want to be DAMN CERTAIN you were doing the right thing. Now, imagine some Sheriff Deputy, who also acts as the coroner, making that decision for you? Then imagine the Sheriff who led that office (same Sheriff’s Office that conveniently shot and killed the alleged assailant in the assault against Sean Stevenson) throwing his Sheriff hat into the Mayor’s race.

Since the Mayor who held office when Sean Stevenson was euthanized at St. Pats died himself during his fifth term, a special election will be held later this year to officially replace him. While the two candidates who faced off in the dark alley decision of 2022 have made their intentions public, there are now TWO other candidates who can be identified via public records and this helpful tweet from Daniel Carlino:

While I said a lot about my perception on the suitability of our former Sheriff, T.J. McDermott, in this post about his magical badge, I haven’t said anything yet about Sean McCoy, probably because who the heck is this guy?

A quick search turned up an incident I recall from my college days, when an Earth First! activist attached himself to a logging truck, then repelled off the edge of the Madison bridge, dangling until first responders brought him down. Here’s the Missoulian reporting on the outcome of the trial that resulted from this 2002 “stunt” (emphasis mine):

Told by the prosecutor to act as “the voice of this community,” a Missoula District Court jury found Earth First! protester Sean McCoy guilty Thursday night of deliberately endangering the lives of firefighters by roping himself to a logging truck and rappelling off the Madison Street Bridge last summer.

“This was an outrageous stunt,” Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg told jurors in his closing statement. “Protest is an important part of our democracy; it’s part of who we are. Nobody takes issue with that. But Sean McCoy and the Earth First! crowd are taking this too far. They put firefighters’ lives at risk with their little stunt.”

The seven-woman, five-man jury returned three hours later with a guilty verdict, which could put McCoy in jail for 10 years or cost him $50,000 in fines. District Judge Douglas Harkin set sentencing for March 18.

What’s Sean McCoy doing now? Running a little farm named after Frank Little. And who will his candidacy potentially siphon votes from? Jordan Hess, would be my opinion. Does that change my calculation on the prospects of T.J. McDermott? Yes it does, and it makes the need for the people in this town to FUCKING PAY ATTENTION even more critical.

As the top of this post indicates, Lee Nelson’s murder trial started this week, and yesterday was the first official day of testimony from cops and witnesses. It was a difficult day for me to sit in that courtroom, so I’m going to try and process what I heard and saw, but here’s my first impression of the defense strategy: they are putting Detective Guy Baker and the police investigation on trial.

The image on the screen is the bloodied head of Lee Nelson. I hope followers of my blog aren’s as squeamish as our LEAD County Attorney, Kirsten Pabst, who popped into courtroom briefly, but left before JC Denton’s body-cam footage finished showing the awful scene.

I may wait until Sunday to write more extensively about this trial, which is expected to go into next week, because there are other things to document that conventional media won’t, like the infamous Gwen Jones going DECORUM on a public commenter at Monday’s Council meeting.

If you’d like to help support my independent journalism, you can donate at my about page. Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

For those following my coverage of what’s been happening (or not happening) in the County next-door, the man pictured above is a familiar figure, and also the NEW Sheriff in town! I know you’re probably wondering, how did Sheriff Funke do during his first performance as Sheriff at the County Commissioner meeting?

Well, as the title of this post indicates, there is a DISPARAGING smell coming from the Sheriff’s Office, but DO NOT WORRY citizens of Mineral County, Sheriff Funke is ON THE JOB, which you can see for yourself at around the 2 hour 10 minute mark on the video below.

Before continuing–because there WAS something important that occurred at this meeting–I’d like to offer a definition of the word “disparage” because I don’t think it means what Ryan Funke THINKS it means.

Let’s move on from the potential Freudian slip of this awful odor belittling our new Sheriff to the implication of how he dealt with this problem, which was to hire outside help instead of going through the normal process of letting maintenance handle it. It’s worth watching the video just to see this LAW man get reprimanded by one of the Commissioners.

After the odor fiasco, I was left with a few stench-related questions, like what the hell was Deputy Cashman and the other Mineral County allstars doing in their offices? And why was it suddenly a crisis that had to be handled with such immediacy?

The REAL intrigue, though, is what Sheriff Toth did, or did NOT do, upon leaving office, and that’s hand over passwords, which he did not do, or phone contacts, which he deleted from the Sheriff’s phone, according to Funke. You can see this on the video at the 2 hour 19 minute mark.

Now, why would a LAW man, like former Sheriff Mike Toth, do something like that? What does Mike Toth have to hide?

When I observed the impressive NO-FUCK-GIVING attitude of Mike Toth when he took the stand in The Great Lance Japer Mandamus Show I thought, now there’s a man who knows his NO-FUCK-GIVING attitude must be appreciated by guys like Austin Knudsen, Montana’s alleged Attorney General. Toth exhibited this cavalier position by doing things like throwing Missoula County’s new Sheriff, Jeremiah Petersen, under the bus for using Mineral County as a shitty Deputy dumping ground.

I’m glad Sheriff Funke has a LITERAL bad smell to deal with because those are so much easier than the figurative stench of corruption exemplified by Sheriff Toth’s tenure, which MUST be dealt with in some capacity by the January court date for the Mandamus update.

So stay tuned, and toss a donation my way if you appreciate this content.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Killers are so hot right now, especially the Idaho variety. 

This week the man accused of brutally beating Lee Nelson to death in broad daylight will finally get to stand trial, but the BIG attention across the country is currently directed at that other set of captivating Idaho deaths, which occurred on November 13^th in Moscow, Idaho.

I’m paying attention to BOTH of these cases because they both hit close to home. In the case of the man accused of killing Lee (Charles Covey), my familiarity with the victim and another person claiming knowledge of the killer’s motive means I’ve already been in contact with the prosecuting attorney and investigating detective. When I attend this case in person, there are some specific things I’ll be looking for insight on.

In the case of the stabbing deaths of four young people, the town itself, Moscow, is both geographically close, and a location where I have family who attend the infamous Christ Church, which has garnered controversy over the years. I’m also interested in sub-cultures that seem to borderline VENERATE psychopaths, like the criminology program where the alleged killer took classes with a professor who has a strong interest in the BTK killer.

To highlight this possible angle, here’s an interview worth watching with the BTK killer’s daughter. It’s chilling.

Another angle I suspect might be relevant is the occult angle. That was my first thought when I saw the address where the killings took place: 1122 King Road. Since psychopaths who graduate to killer status like placing their accomplishments in the context of their contemporaries, I see this address as a reference to the supposed “killing of the king” ritual that occurred on November 22^nd, 1963.

I’m hoping to discuss some of this dark shit with a seasoned researcher into the occult, William Ramsey. A recent podcast episode with an equally knowledgeable interviewer got me thinking about the phenomenon of the “smiley face killings” in relation to the mysterious death of Aaron Bolton in Seattle. Here is what authorities knew at the time (2012) about finding Bolton dead in Elliott Bay:

A prominent Montana nightclub owner and musician was found dead in Elliott Bay on Monday morning.

Aaron Bolton, 36, had been in Seattle with his stepbrother picking up new speakers for Badlander, the Missoula nightclub he co-owned, according to Seattle musician Ron Lewis. How he ended up in the water off Pier 57 is unknown.

Seattle police and fire crews were dispatched to the 1300 block of Alaskan Way around 6 a.m. for reports of a body in the water. Although early reports indicated the man had been wearing a lifejacket, police spokesman Mark Jamieson said he was not.

“It appears to be an accident,” Jamieson said of the death.

Now this is where things get synchronistically weird. Later in the article, a little data point in Bolton’s biographical information got my attention. It’s the bold part:

Bolton was born in New Orleans but grew up in Missoula after his father was hired as a professor in the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of Montana, Eiland said. Bolton briefly attended the University of Montana, but he wanted to be a musician.

He moved to Seattle when in his 20s, and played and toured with the band Mines. He worked as a bike courier and briefly at Microsoft, Eiland said.

For some reason, the Microsoft angle reminded me of a very strange news story that made brief headlines last month. You will understand in a moment why I find this a bit unsettling. From the link:

A former Microsoft technologist is behind bars after he plowed his car into a crowded Washington State supermarket on Friday night after alleging that he’s being pursued by a murderous satanic cult.

After crashing his car into the front of the Fred Meyer store in Everett 50 miles north of Seattle, Ronald Lewis, 57, covered himself in gasoline, police said.

Lewis then sat in his car as responding officers tried to negotiate his surrender. That’s when his car caught fire.

I’ll forgive you if you don’t see the connection, because it took me awhile to realize the name of Bolton’s Seattle musician friend is the same as the Microsoft employee–Ron Lewis. Isn’t that curious? Yeah, curious like Microsoft featuring, then apologizing, for that collaboration with Marina Abramović. It’s all fun and games until someone tips-off authorities about that child porn, right Microsoft?

While I think there’s value in considering the occult aspects of evil, there’s also pitfalls. Is it possible to read too much into benign data points? Sure. Is giving our attention encouraging these psycho killers in ways we might not understand? Possibly. Regardless, I think a good case can be made for engaging in MORE occult research, and I hope to talk about all this with William Ramsey sometime next month.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to toss a donation my direction if you’re feeling generous.

by Travis Mateer

On Wednesday, at the 6pm meeting of the Historical Preservation Society, I announced my EMPHATIC opposition to the political ambitions of our current Mayoral placeholder, Jordan Hess. I explained to the dumbfounded history preservers that Hess is a multi-modal radical who will use everything at his disposal to dramatically reshape this valley to align with his climate catastrophe fever dreams.

This post, though, isn’t about Jordan Hess’ deep desire to lay transit track and attack petrol-guzzlers. It’s about the former Sheriff, T.J. McDermott, who must think his former badge is a magical ticket to Mayor, if the rumors of his imminent announcement this week are true.

One of the magical properties of this artifact from McDermott’s tenure as Sheriff must be to ward off the spirits of the dead who have been dishonored by this gutless man’s reign of lackluster leadership. This will be important, since the ghosts of Sean Stevenson, Johnny Lee Perry, and Rebekah Barsotti will be lurking in the ethereal background of his campaign. I know this because I’m going to make sure it happens…IF McDermott is arrogant enough to take the plunge.

It’s not just the lingering presence of the dead laying in wait, there’s also a synchronicity stalking the empty cowboy hats on the mighty rack where they hang their fake identities, identities like MAN OF GOD, or MAN OF THE LAW, or PROTECTOR OF THE WEAK AND VULNERABLE.

Oh yeah, T.J. McDermott? Sean Stevenson, euthanized by your coroner on January 5^th, 2020. Johnny Lee Perry, shot in the back by one of your deputies on August 29^th, 2021. And Rebekah Barsotti, who conveniently “drowned” in a “river accident” after finally bringing in those badges to deal with her POS husband who lives in the County next door, where law enforcement rejects who can’t successfully hide corruption in other counties get dumped.

This list is just the most glaring anecdotal cases I’m aware of and able to currently write about. There are more, as the post on January 1^st clearly indicates. And that’s not all. For a County that had a fucking book by Jon Krakauer written about it, you’d think the kind of systemic numbers that show a systemic problem wouldn’t exist. But they do.

Despite all this, T.J. McDermott is going to ask Missoula citizens to vote for him in the Mayoral race later this year. Does the area where the ability to experience shame simply not exist within this soft man’s exterior frame? Or, is the ability to blame others, as exemplified by McDermott’s appearance on a local Facebook group’s weekly Zoom call, such a well-developed, pathological coping mechanism, that he can’t even see the reality of what his candidacy will do?

I can see it VERY clearly. McDermott will peel away votes almost solely from Mike Nugent because they will both be jockeying for the MODERATE vote. Hess’ tribe is a die-hard, tightly-knit grouping of dweebacrats, a term I just made up to describe Missoula’s bureaucrat/non-profit nexus, aided and abed-ed by the cultural cool kids who like their ice cream served by less uppity laborers.

My campaign will be to warn the conservatives capable of seeing shitty strategy of what’s coming if they choose to attach any part of their anti-Hess hopes to the fantasy of T.J. McDermott’s magical badge. Have you people NOT learned the lesson of Jacob Elder?

Maybe the problem is the person who hasn’t learned the lesson of Jacob Elder is ME. Maybe my disdain for the New Party cabal of “liberal” political schemers has caused me to willfully disregard the stupid political gamesmanship of the Missoula conservatives who lined up behind an absolutely terrible candidate, thus ensuring Mayor Engen’s fifth and final term.

Is this just the result of short-term thinkers who put ego before community, or is there a larger function to the dysfunction of Missoula conservatives? Do they WANT the multi-modal radical, Jordan Hess, to draw their constituents low-information political ire while the almighty greaser of bipartisan politics—MONEY—positions itself to bring home the bacon for things like trains, planes and ELECTRIC automobiles?

Another possibility is Montana’s top Republican, Greg Gianforte, is such a paranoid, insulated billionaire lacking substantive Montana roots that the character of his entire administration is infected, and it’s spreading. I’ll hopefully have a post this week about a logistical dysfunction that seems intentional.

Whatever it is that’s potentially luring local conservatives into supporting former Sheriff McDermott, I hope to discover the cause, and remedy it because the badge ain’t magic, and the worst (for T.J. McDermott) is yet to come.

If you’d like to support the most interesting independent journalism happening in Missoula, please make a donation at my about page. With my internet HOPEFULLY getting hooked up today, the costs of discovering what the hell is happening here are increasing, so any bit helps.

Thanks for reading!