Kalispell man charged with criminal endangerment of deputy

Last Tuesday in district court, Gregory Walter Macijunas, of Kalispell, pleaded not guilty to two counts, one being felony endangerment after allegedly engaging in conduct that created substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury, namely against a Phillips County Sheriff’s deputy.

According to court records, on August 8 of 2015, the PC Sheriff’s Office received a call from a citizen stating he was following a drunk driver. The caller said the driver was continually crossing over the centerline on Highway 2 near Saco and added that the vehicle – maroon in color – had nearly collided with an oncoming car in the eastbound lane.

Two sheriff’s deputies drove from Malta toward Saco to attempt to locate the vehicle. One of the two deputies saw the maroon car in the middle of a pack of other vehicles and the deputy had to swerve onto the shoulder of the road to avoid being hit by the maroon car. The deputy turned on his lights and turned around to pursue the erratic driver. Before pulling over, Macijunas, the driver, allegedly swerved across the centerline two more times.

When the deputy approached the vehicle to question Macijunas, he noticed that the driver had bloodshot and glassy eyes and his speech was slurred.

The deputy asked Macijunas to exit his vehicle in order to perform a field sobriety test and Macijunas did so, but added that he had a bad leg. Macijunas attempted a one-legged stand but could not keep his balance. Following two more field sobriety tests, Macijunas was arrested for criminal endangerment and DUI and was then transported to the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office.

While at the sheriff’s office, Macijunas declined to give a breath sample. Macijunas’ criminal history showed that he had two prior convictions for DUI in Flathead County, one in 2009 and the other in 2011. Because of the refusal to submit to a breath test and the two prior convictions, the sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant from the Phillips County Justice of the Peace to obtain blood from Macijunas. A registered nurse performed the blood draw and placed it in the proper packaging with paper work to be sent to the Montana State Crime Lab.

A person convicted of the offense of criminal endangerment shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 10 years or be fined not more than $50,000 or both.

Macijunas pleaded not guilty to both the criminal endangerment and DUI charges. He will next appear in court for an omnibus hearing on October 27.