BILLINGS, Mont.-- As 6 p.m. approached, it was almost sunset in downtown Billings. Manager of the restaurant heard noises near the bar, and went to investigate. He found the man he had just fired, holding two steak knives in his hands and shouting "Give me all my money!"
The manager coaxed Brandon Bird, a young felon in prison prerelease charged as Brandon Bird, into the alley behind his restaurant.
Bird was out when the manager and another employee attempted to get back into the kitchen to lock the door. According to court records, Bird followed them into the kitchen and began to stab and slash employees. Bird was pushed to the ground by an employee who hurled plates at him. It was chaos. The kitchen staff member ran into the restaurant covered in blood and yelling about a stabbing. Wait staff hustled customers out of the restaurant telling them to forget their bills and go.
Bird confronted employees and ended up on the sidewalk in front of where he is accused of trying to rob passersby. Four people were injured in the rampage. Bird was subdued by an employee and an off-duty officer who were passing by. Bird refused to be subdued even after being stunned by police with a Taser.
Bird was charged with four counts of felony assault with the weapon, two counts of felony burglary, and one count each misdemeanor resisting an arrest. If convicted, Bird could spend decades in prison.
The Billings Gazette reports that county officials are now discussing more than a stabbing spree in downtown. This Bird, originally from Missoula was released at Alpha House, a halfway house prison in Billings. It has highlighted a problem local officials have been focusing on for years: A large number of violent felons from Montana are being transferred to Billings.
Within days of the stabbings Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito, and Billings Mayor Bill Cole addressed a group state legislators. They were asking for the help of the state to address Billings' need to have more parolees and the consequences that has on the city's increasing crime rate.
Twito stated to the legislators, "This is unlike any other Montanan has ever seen." "And so, we need solutions from your (in Billings) that help us here."
CRIME TRENDING UPWARD
Billings leaders complain for years about Billings becoming a "dumping ground for many state paroled and prerelease prisoners, some of which have committed horrific crimes here.
One local legislator was sympathetic and suggested that the Department of Corrections only gives inmates "a bus tickets to Billings" after they are released from prison or other DOC programs.
As many state prisons and jails operate at full capacity, it has been difficult to keep these people off the streets. Yellowstone County's jail has a capacity of 434 prisoners. According to Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder, 535 prisoners were held at the jail on Nov. 9.
Twito exclaimed, "A hundred more!" to the state legislators. They're double-bunking, putting them on floors and putting them in spaces. It's crazy."
26% of those incarcerated were placed on DOC hold or probation violations. Yellowstone County voters rejected a mill levy in 2015 to expand and modernize the jail. However, crime has increased, so the facility has not been able to keep up.
Corrections data shows that Billings has a higher proportion of DOC-supervised inmates than other cities. Billings also has the highest crime rate and largest population center in the state. Since the past decade, crime has skyrocketed and real solutions are difficult to find.
Twito spoke to lawmakers and said that the combination of the high crime rate and the increased number of crimes being committed by people who have been convicted or tried has put a strain on his office.
Twito stated, "We keep dealing the same people over and over again." Twito said, "I will show data that proves this."
Nearly half of the 2,270 felony cases that his office dealt with in 2020 involved suspects who had been previously charged in Yellowstone County. Three hundred of those had active cases against them. This meant that they were awaiting trial for previous felony offenses. It is not possible to determine how many repeat offenders came from other parts of the state.
THE NUMBERS
Yellowstone County is home to approximately 15% of the state’s population. As of Nov. 8, there were 2,388 community-supervised convicts. This number is 24% of the 9,925 total community supervised people in Montana. Parolees, probationers, and conditional release are all included in community supervision. Twito stated that prerelease inmates such as Bird are not included in this number.
Missoula is the second-largest state county with 11% of its population. It houses 1,143 community supervised prisoners, which represents 11.5% of the state’s community supervised population. Gallatin, Montana's third-most populous county, also houses about 11% of Montana's state population. However, it only has 512 convicts which is about 5% state's total community supervision population.
According to the Bozeman Police Department 2020 Annual Report, Billings had a total crime rate of 126.4 per 1000 residents in 2017. Missoula came in close second with 115.36 for 1,000 residents. Bozeman, with 59.74 crimes per 1,000 residents, had the lowest crime rate among all major cities in the state.
Great Falls has the highest crime rate with 149.26 incidents per 1,000 residents. Great Falls' total supervised population is 1,006 which corresponds to 10% of the community release population. 7.5% of Montanans live in Cascade County.
VIOLENCE - A EPIDEMIC
Yellowstone County's rising crime rate has been described as an epidemic of violence. The backdrop for this year's frequent shootings was set by historically high homicide investigations, gun violence, and the historic high levels of homicide investigation. In 2021, crime was expected to exceed 2020's already unimaginable levels.
However, Billings' crime rate has been rising steadily over the past decade even though there was a spike in COVID-19 frustrations. Between 2011 and 2019, violent crime increased from 444 per year to 933 reported violent crimes two years ago. It got worse in 2020 when the countywide number of violent crimes was 1,169.
A shootout between two groups occurred on June 24, in the alleyway next to Jake's, and was one of the most violent crimes of the year. Surveillance footage revealed that the four groups met before Brijen Fisher (18 years old) of Billings fired multiple shots at point blank range, killing Thaddeus Merritt (22 years old) of Chicago.
Merritt fell, and Merritt was shot in the leg and ankle by Fisher. The rest of the men fled. Fisher crawled behind the car and was eventually found by police. Merritt was killed on the spot.
These two crimes, Fisher's and Birds', are a clear sign of the increasing violence in the city.
Police and community leaders have faced a difficult task in combating rising crime. A group of private property owners in downtown found a solution when they contributed to the purchase and demolition of the Lazy KT Motel. This was a common source of calls for police officers. The immediate effect was remarkable. The area saw a dramatic drop in emergency calls and police officers. Property owners were pleased with the results.
A proposition to increase public safety and police funding by $7.5million was made to voters due to the rising crime rate. Voters overwhelmingly supported the measure in November. It will increase police force, capacity of municipal courts, firefighting capabilities, and funding for substance abuse and mental health programs. Officials hope that these measures will help some people get off the streets and into treatment, before they become criminals.
METH and other DRUGS
Billings has a problem with drugs. District court is filled with people facing charges of criminal possession or distribution of dangerous drugs.
Billings saw 1,910 drug-related charges in 2018, which was the highest level of all Billings' 2018. Although this number has decreased to 1,224 in 2020, it is still quite high compared to the 886 total drug charges in 2010. In 2020, 39 of the charges were for possession with the intent to sell drugs and 30 for the sale illicit drugs.
The State Medical Examiner stated that Yellowstone County had more than twice the number of drug overdose deaths in 2020 -- 25, compared to any other county in Montana. This number represented 22% of all Montana overdose deaths. Cascade County came in second, with 12 overdose deaths. Missoula County was next with 11 overdose deaths. Although the exact types of drug that caused the deaths were not reported, it is clear that methamphetamine was the most common illicit drug in Montana.
More PROGRAMS, More FELONS
The existing criminal justice system is one reason Billings has a large supervision population. Two prerelease programs are available in Billings, including a substance abuse disorder program and a sex offenders program. There are also 34 sober living facilities, drug courts and veterans' courts. The state has the highest number of parole and probation officers (35 as of 2019). The Legislature allocated seven additional parole officers in the past year. Two more have been hired so far.
2019 saw Missoula receive 24 POs, while Great Falls received 16. Bozeman, the third-largest state, had nine POs allotted to its office.
Local leaders are not surprised that Billings has a high number of community-supervised inmates despite having more services and more POs.
TRAGIC OUTCOMES
Roxann Watson (64), a Billings woman was strangled to death and beat to death at her home on April 15. Her daughter, Erika Miller, 28, and her boyfriend Henry Porter (22), were named as suspects. After Gallatin County Sheriff's Deputies chased them to the woods near Yellowstone National Park, Porter and Miller died by their own hands.
Shanna Booth (32), was found dead in Miller's basement, stuffed in her closet. Porter is credited with Booth's death.
Twito reminded lawmakers that Porter was convicted in July 2018 of three counts each of assault with a deadly weapon. Porter was sentenced to the DOC for a period of ten years, with all years being suspended. Porter was arrested for aggravated assault with a gun, sexual assault, and robbery at the end of July 2018. His suspended sentence was revoked by the courts in August.
He was convicted in February 2019 of aggravated theft and sentenced to 10 year imprisonment with five years suspended. He was found to have a history in violent behavior by DOC and was therefore labeled a high risk offender. He was cleared for prerelease in Billings, May 2019. He was granted conditional release in August 2020 and moved into the community.
DOC received notification in February 2021 that Porter was expelled from his home for using drugs repeatedly. Porter was placed in sober living facilities in March. A woman called the authorities on April 8th 2021 to report that Porter was living with her daughter and they were addicted to meth. Roxann Watson was that woman.
Twito said that Porter had only left the house four days before he moved in. Porter had not been in touch with DOC since March 3. Watson was found dead at her home seven days after she called the authorities on April 8.
Porter's and Birds' cases are extreme. Many convicts in community supervision release do not commit any further crimes and go on with their lives. According to DOC's 2021 biennium reports, 38.57% of paroled and similar released offenders reoffended in 2017. 70% of all recidivism occurred within the first two years after release.
Most common offenses were stalking, harassing, or threatening a victim; possession of a gun; stalking, harassment, or threatening a person; absconding; failure or termination from sexual or violent offender treatment programmes; and termination from a program for substance abuse disorder or prerelease treatment, DOC reported in their 2021 legislative biennium.
The parole board paroled 1,504 out of 2,410 applicants in 2020 as a response to COVID-19. The board approved 664 out of 1,028 total applications in 2019. This is less than half the number.
The DOC, like many other criminal justice agencies has a high workload and turnover. According to a workforce report, Billings' probation and parole officers handled an average of 67 cases in 2019. Hardin was the closest state with the highest caseload in 2019. One parole officer in Hardin supervised 182 prisoners at that time. In the same report, it was also noted that parole officers had a 25% attrition rate.
STRETCHED THIIN
Billings' growing crime means that not only is the criminal justice agency stretched thin, but also corrections. Twito said that Twito's county attorney's office is overwhelmed and has been unable to pursue cases due to turnover. His prosecutors were handling over 130 cases per day, he said. Clearances of cases can sometimes take longer than one year.
Twito stated, "We are in quarter three of 2021. I can assure you that we are not increasing our (felony filings)." Twito said, "I don’t have enough prosecutors in order to handle all the cases that are being filed." We have to prioritize violent offenses, dangerous offenses, and other urgent matters.
The Office of the Public Defender has also been plagued by the same problem. The OPD was unable to function due to high turnover and overburdened lawyers. A district judge held OPD in contempt for not assigning lawyers promptly. OPD has since assigned one lawyer to each judge in an effort to address the problem. However, some lawyers have been left with extremely large caseloads as a result, according to OPD's testimony before Judge Donald Harris earlier in the year.
Both offices have had to wait for solutions to their staffing problems. It has been hard to recruit and retain talent even with the funding available. This is particularly true for public defenders/prosecutors, which are highly-skilled but relatively low-paid jobs compared to private attorneys' salaries and the workload in the region.
Officials anticipate that increased police force will worsen the problem of caseload with the passage of the public safety mill levie this fall.
Chris Kukulski, Billings' City Administrator, encouraged those present to think about possible legislation and solutions in response to the presentation. He encouraged the legislators to create committees to examine the issues and develop long-term plans.
