Cuesta Jr. pleads guilty in District Court

On Tuesday, February 28, Antonio Fidel Cuesta Jr. changed his not guilty plea to the charge of vehicular homicide while under the influence to a plea of guilty in Phillips County District Court.

Court records say Cuesta Jr. is pleading guilty and acknowledges and admits that on or about August 30, 2016, near Sleeping Buffalo, he negligently caused the death of Riley Baublitz while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, according to court records.

A person convicted of this offense shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 30 years or be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000, or both. In exchange for his guilty plea, the Phillips County Attorney agreed to recommend a commitment to the Department of Corrections for 15 years with all but five years to be suspended on the terms and conditions of probation that may be recommended in a pre-sentence investigation report including the payment of restitution to the victim and his family. The Phillips County Attorney agreed to recommend that the defendant be placed in the "WATCh" program and that he complete the Knights Program.

Court records state that on August 30, a man living at the Sleeping Buffalo called the Phillips County Sheriff's office and reported that a male, Cuesta Jr., was at his home asking for a ride to Malta. The caller said Cuesta Jr. looked "bloody and beat up," was wearing only one shoe and said that he had rolled a van, before changing his story and claiming he had fallen on his chin. Cuesta Jr. pointed south towards Secondary Highway 243 when he was talking about where he’d come from. The man gave Cuesta Jr. a ride to Malta and dropped him off at a family member's house near the Phillips County Courthouse. The man said he then drove home to the Sleeping Buffalo before calling the Sheriff's Office.

A Phillips County Deputy Sheriff drove to the Sleeping Buffalo area looking for an automobile crash site. The Deputy Sheriff found a Ford van in a ditch approximately eight feet from the roadway. The deputy saw skid marks on the roadway where the van had left the pavement while traveling southbound. The deputy was then notified by Phillips County Dispatch that a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper from Fort Benton was coming to take over the investigation. The Deputy did not locate any other persons at the scene of the crash.

In Malta, a person at the residence where Cuesta Jr. was dropped off called the Phillips County Sheriff's 911 line stating that she needed an ambulance for Cuesta Jr. Cuesta Jr. was taken to the Phillips County Hospital. The Sheriff’s Deputy who had found the crash site near Sleeping Buffalo was informed by dispatch that the possible driver of the van had been taken to the hospital. The Sheriff’s Deputy arrived at the hospital and was informed that Cuesta Jr. had run away from the facility after he was asked if he had consumed any alcohol.

At the crash site, the tow truck driver called to the scene phoned the Sheriff's Deputy and stated that he had found a body at 5:55 a.m. The MHP Trooper began his crash site investigation and located the body. The Trooper also found a blue and green pipe that appeared to be used for smoking drugs and a small, plastic Ziploc bag that contained small strips of a dark, sticky substance.

Phillips County Sheriff Scott Moran traveled to the Cuesta residents and placed Cuesta Jr. under arrest at about 8 a.m. Cuesta Jr. was taken to the Phillips County Hospital and a sample of his blood was obtained and sent out for testing. During an interview, Cuesta Jr. said that he had been drinking at a local tavern the night of the accident and that he had "got hammered." Cuesta Jr. also admitted he had smoked pot in the week prior to the crash. Cuesta Jr. told the MHP Trooper a couple of times that he was still drunk but he did not admit that he had been driving the van. Witnesses later told investigators that they had seen Cuesta Jr. driving the van on the night in question and that Baublitz had been his passenger.

Sentencing for Cuesta Jr. is set for Monday, April 10, 2017, at 10:30 a.m.

State of Montana vs. Wayne Michael Hofer

On November 10, 2016, Wayne Michael Hofer pleaded not guilty to burglary and felony theft for crimes allegedly committed against hi employer in March and October 2016 near Dodson, according to court records.

On February 28, 2017, Hofer entered a change of plea, pleading guilty to the theft charge, a felony.

In November of 2016, a Phillips County resident living near Dodson came to the Phillips County Sheriff Office and reported the theft of a large amount of silver dollars, two $1,000 bills, a $500 bill and some silver certificates. The man said he discovered the theft when he went into the bedroom to get his marriage certificate out of a safe. The safe was in a closet and covered by two handbags which were also filled with coins. He said the safe had been broken into and the money and coins were taken. He said the two handbags were almost empty as well.

The man said that in June 2016, he received an envelope in the mail from a Texas company named Provident Metals addressed to Hofer. The man thought the envelope was strange so he made a copy of the invoice inside and asked Hofer if you knew anything about it. The man thought the invoice was a bill and told Hofer to take care of it and nothing more was said. When the man found that his safe had been broken into some time later, he found the copy of the invoice, called the number listed and found that Hofer had sold silver coins to the company.

In November, the Phillips County Undersheriff placed some sun-dried currency in an envelope and gave it to the man who'd been robbed. He also gave him a trail camera and asked him to set it up in the bedroom. In the meantime, the Undersheriff called Provident Metals and learned that the company had purchased several silver coins including silver dollars, Kennedy half dollars, Eisenhower silver dollars, Franklin halves and pre-1964 silver coins from Hofer. The company's representative said, in fact, that about an hour earlier, Hofer had tried to sell some more silver coins. The company representative also told the Undersheriff that six invoices for purchases from Hofer totaled $14,137.90.

The undersheriff got permission to enter the home in question, checked the camera and found photographs of a individual wearing a long-sleeved light-colored shirt with a vest and baseball hat. The Undersheriff and a Sheriff's Deputy returned to Malta to look for Hofer and found him at a local casino. Hofer at first denied that he had been in the house but later admitted that he had taken the money. In later interviews, Hofer also admitted that he had taken the man's coins and sold them to the metal company and added that he had taken too $1,000 bills and sold them to a coin dealer in Havre, and had taken 13 silver certificates and exchanged them in Harlem. Hofer said he spent the money on “guns and playing.”