Men plead not guilty in Lake County double murder

By JOHN STROMNES of the Missoulian
Missoulian.com News Online

POLSON - Three men charged with a double murder near Ronan on Feb. 3 pleaded not guilty Thursday in Lake County District Court, and the prosecutor said he would not seek the death penalty against them.

Jeremiah Chalwin Green, 19, of the Ninepipes area, Glen Gardipee, 29, of St. Ignatius, and Troy McDonald, 19, of Pablo, are accused of deliberate homicide or accountability for deliberate homicide in the shooting deaths of Gerald Sirucek, 20, and Catherine Madplume, 20. Their bodies were found at a home south of Ronan after one of the defendants contacted tribal police, saying he was afraid for his own life.

The defendants are also charged with concealing or tampering with evidence by conspiring to hide Sirucek's body after the crime.

The motive for the first murder allegedly was robbery, to obtain a small amount of money - some $200, according to one account - and the second an execution-style shooting to conceal the first slaying.

Court documents allege Sirucek had been invited to a party at the home because the defendants knew he had received a student loan and was carrying the cash.

Madplume was shot in the back, apparently when she went looking for Sirucek, who already lay dead in a vehicle outside the residence, prosecutors allege. She was then shot several more times in the back of the head. Sirucek also was repeatedly stabbed with a steak knife after he was shot.

At least two of the defendants have made statements acknowledging their involvement in the crimes, according to court records.

Under a long-standing state-tribal agreement, felonies on the Flathead Reservation are prosecuted in state District Court, not in federal court as on other reservations in Montana.

The three defendants have been held without bond since their arrest the morning after the murders. Each is represented by a separate public defender.

Gardipee's lawyer is Ben Anciaux of Polson, of the Lake County Public Defenders Office. Anciaux entered a not guilty plea for his client Thursday and then asked for a delay in the pretrial hearing.

Anciaux and Chief Deputy Lake County Attorney Mitch Young agreed it would take at least two months for the state Crime Lab in Missoula to examine the massive amount of evidence and have it available for the lawyers' inspection.

Judge Kim Christopher then set the pretrial hearing for April 21. Young said the Crime Lab had agreed to expedite the processing of evidence.

McDonald, who allegedly fired the shots that killed Sirucek, is represented by John Putikka, a lawyer from Thompson Falls and a former Sanders County public defender.

Putikka told Christopher he had serious concerns that his client was not competent to stand trial.

He asked the judge to enter a "not guilty" plea for McDonald.

"I'm not convinced in my own mind that he has the (mental) capacity to enter a plea," Putikka told Christopher at the brief arraignment Thursday morning.

He also asked the judge to authorize funds for a psychological evaluation of his client. Christopher agreed to the request.

Green, the third defendant, is represented by Larry Nistler, Lake County's chief public defender. Nistler entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of Green, who is commonly known by his initials "J.C."

Nistler then asked for public funds to hire an investigator for his client.

"I don't believe I can adequately represent J.C. without having an investigator as soon as possible," Nistler said. Christopher authorized hiring a private investigator.

Nistler said Green has such extensive dental problems that it's difficult and painful for Green to discuss the facts of the case. Nistler urged the Lake County detention officers to provide dental care for Green as soon as possible.

Like the others, Green's pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 21.

About 25 people, many of them relatives of the murder victims, attended Thursday's arraignments.

Security in the courtroom was higher than usual, with several armed deputies and tribal police on guard. A deputy sheriff used a hand-held metal detector to sweep the clothing of each person permitted in the courtroom, searching for weapons.

The slayings have shocked the tribal community on the Flathead Reservation, where close and caring extended-family relationships have long been an important part of traditional tribal culture.

Reporter John Stromnes can be reached at 1-800-366-7186, or jstromnes@missoulian.com

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