SEELEY LAKE – District Court Judge John Larson dismissed the embezzlement case against Kody Kelley of Seeley Lake without prejudice Sept. 3. In April 2020, Kelley was charged with felony theft of property exceeding $1,500 by embezzlement from the Seeley Lake Volunteer Fire Foundation. The case was dismissed following the request to Judge Larson from Deputy County Attorney Leta Womack after the parties entered into an agreement for pretrial diversion.
According to the charging documents, Kelley was charged with embezzling $4,264.23 from the Foundation while acting as the Foundation’s Treasurer.
According to court documents filed by Womack, the Foundation and Kelley entered into an agreement pursuant to Montana Code Annotated Section 46-16-130 (3) Sept. 3. Kelley voluntarily entered into the Missoula County Calibrate Pretrial Diversion Program.
According to the Missoula County website, Calibrate is a formalized, prosecution-led pretrial diversion program whose target population is first time offenders. The program seeks to reduce the number of individuals involved in the criminal justice system by diverting those deemed eligible at an early stage, thereby minimizing the negative impact on the participant and saving taxpayer dollars, while still providing an emphasis on community safety.
A screening process, which includes consultation with victims, is utilized to determine who is accepted into pretrial diversion. Once accepted, participants are required to adhere to agreed-upon conditions for a set time frame.
Conditions of pretrial diversion are tailored to a participant’s individual needs and circumstances. According to MCA 46-16-130 Pretrial Diversion conditions could include: the defendant may not commit any offense; the defendant may not engage in specified activities, conduct and associations bearing a relationship to the conduct upon which the charge against the defendant is based; the defendant shall participate in a supervised rehabilitation program, which may include treatment, counseling, training or education; the defendant shall make restitution in a specified manner for harm or loss caused by the offense; or any other reasonable conditions.
The agreement or terms between Kelley and the Foundation were not released. Womack did confirm that Kelley was required to pay restitution to the Foundation within a specified time. The amount or time frame was not disclosed.
If Kelley successfully completes the program meeting all conditions within the specific time frame, the criminal charge will be dismissed. If the conditions of the agreement are not, the county attorney’s office can re-file the case.
Womack said, “It is one way to make things right and remove a felony from someone’s record as long as they follow through.”
Reader Comments(0)