Charges filed in case starting with high-speed chase

A man high on meth led police on a pursuit that risked many lives, and after fleeing on foot, was found hiding under a home in which its occupants had a houseful of drugs, court documents say, leading to charges against a woman in the residence.

Darrell David Gardipee III is charged with seven counts — felony criminal endangerment, misdemeanor criminal mischief, misdemeanor obstructing a peace officer, misdemeanor driving under the influence of drugs, misdemeanor fleeing or eluding a police officer, misdemeanor driving while license suspended and misdemeanor reckless driving.

He was being held in the Hill County Detention Center this morning on $15,000 bond.

Rikki Lynn Horn was charged with felony counts of criminal possession with intent to distribute, criminal possession of dangerous drugs, use of possession of property subject to criminal forfeiture, obstructing justice and a misdemeanor charge criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.

Horn was in the detention center this morning on $10,000 bond.

Both are scheduled to make their initial court appearance on the charges Wednesday.

Court charging documents say a Havre police officer was informed by a Safe Trails Task Force agent Nov. 22 that a blue Chevrolet pickup truck with license plates that were registered to a different vehicle was parked on the 100 Block of 15th Avenue.

The officer responded to the area and waited for the pickup driver to drive past him before turning on his emergency lights to pull the driver over.

“The vehicle began to pull over to the right side of the road, nearly striking a small child sitting on the side of the road,” documents say.

Gardipee then sped away, documents say, continuing on Second Street, and later on 16th Street, speeding through several intersections and nearly colliding with multiple other vehicles. Gardipee drove into a ditch and then continued driving at about 70 miles per hour, a speed he kept going through a school zone, documents say.

The officer, who had trouble keeping up because the streets were icy, caught up with the fleeing pickup at the 1100 Block of 16th Street, where Gardipee crashed into an embankment and hit a fence, documents say.

Gardipee, and a female passenger, Sequoia Demonttiney, ran through a nearby field. The officer caught and arrested Demontiney — she had active federal warrants unrelated to the incident — and a Montana Highway Patrol trooper continued chasing Gardipee.

Documents say the trooper saw Gardipee run inside a 17th Street trailer. Officers knocked on the trailer door but no answered.

After a search warrant was applied for and granted, a group of various law enforcement officers cleared the trailer looking for Gardipee, who was eventually found under the trailer.

Gardipee told police Demontiney told him to flee, documents say. While speaking, the officer noticed Gardipee was “twitchy.” Gardipee admitted to officers he had used meth earlier that day.

Gardipee was transported to the Hill County Detention Center, where he was interviewed. He said he didn’t stop because he didn’t want to get in trouble for driving with a suspended driver’s license. He said he didn’t stop at any stop signs because police were chasing him, documents say. And, he added, he ran into the trailer because he and the owner had gone to school together.

While looking for Gardipee in the trailer, law enforcement stumbled upon drug paraphernalia in plain sight, prompting them to obtain a search warrant for the residence.

Officers found baggies used for drugs, a digital scale, over $1,500 cash believed to be drug money, 2.1 grams of meth and .4 grams of pot, a meth pipe, two bindles with more meth, and a dollar bill with cocaine on it, documents say. Horn was arrested for what was found in the trailer.

The other people in the trailer were juveniles.

She is scheduled for her first court appearance on the charges

No charges against Demontiney were listed in Hill County District Court as of this morning.