A man was bound over to the action of the Montgomery County Grand Jury for possession of a controlled substance.
Matthew Montana, represented by Richard Carter, went before Judge Larry Bamberg in Montgomery County Justice Court on Tuesday morning. Montana was charged with possession of a controlled substance after a joint apprehension between the Winona Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department.
Winona Police Chief Roshaun Daniels said he was watching a home that was known for drug activity when Montana pulled into the yard. Daniels said he got out of a red truck and went inside the home for two to three minutes. He said Montana then exited the home and got back into his truck and left.
He said he allowed Montana to get ahead of him before stopping because he wanted to ensure that he was away from the home.
Daniels said when he caught up to Montana, he was in the parking lot of the Best Value Inn with a shirt over his head.
“It was like he was hiding. I guess he didn’t want me to see his face,” Daniels said.
That’s when he got out and he began speaking with Montana. He said he then called Deputy Kelvin Lee and later on Deputy Jeff Wilson on his work cellphone for backup. Daniels said he called Lee and Wilson on his work cellphone because Winona Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department use two different radio systems.
“That would mean you would have to call the EOC and they would have to call the deputies right?” County Prosecutor Ryan Taylor asked Daniels.
“Yes,” he said.
Wilson testified stating that when he arrived on scene, Daniels and Lee had Montana out of the vehicle.
“I heard him [Lee] ask if he would consent to a search and he [Montana] said no,” Wilson said. He said he then went to Montana and spoke to him. “He admitted to me that he had a marijuana pipe in his console,” he said. But, Wilson said there were several pipes that were found and two Advil bottles, one containing marijuana and one containing methamphetamine. Wilson said the meth was sent to the crime lab, and it was exactly 1.43 grams of meth. Bamberg found enough evidence to bind Montana over.
Also, a Stewart man who was originally charged with commercial burglary had his charge reduced to petit larceny and was asked not to return to Kilmichael.
Christopher Decanter, 24, was charged with shoplifting, disorderly conduct and commercial burglary stemming from an incident at Kountry Corner. However, after speaking with Taylor and Public Defender Lee Bailey, Kilmichael Police Chief Barry Gregg requested that Bamberg reduced the charge to petit larceny.
“If you go by the code section, it’s clearly commercial burglary but, I’m okay with dropping it to petit larceny,” he said. Gregg also asked Bamberg if he could ban Decanter out of Kilmichael.
“I can’t do that, I can’t ban people out of anywhere,” Bamberg said. But, he asked Decanter not to return back to Kilmichael.
“You’re getting off light and I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit,” Bamberg said.
