Former county detention officer appears in court
Lloyde Ogden, Jr. was arraigned on Nov. 26 on the additional charges filed against him earlier this fall in connection with two incidents over the summer.
Ogden, Jr. appeared before Judge John Parker via Zoom from the Broadwater County Detention Center.
The former Cascade County detention officer was charged in August with felony assault with a weapon and misdemeanor partner family member assault.
On Sept. 26, the Cascade County Attorney’s Office filed additional charges against Ogden Jr. of felony counts of assault with a weapon (solicitation), tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and assault with a weapon; and a misdemeanor PFMA second offense.
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He entered a not guilty plea on Nov. 26 to those six counts and Parker said that is jury trial was scheduled for Feb. 23.
During an Oct. 29 hearing, Dean Koffler, Ogden Jr.’s defense attorney, requested that the court reduce bail from $500,000 to $50,000, since he’s a lifelong Great Falls resident, served in the military and as a detention officer, for which he previously received some awards, didn’t have a criminal history and had gone to treatment.
Several of his friends, family and his father, who is also a Cascade County detention officer, said that he respected authority and would abide by conditions if his bond was reduced and he was released.
His sister-in-law testified on his behalf but said she wasn’t aware that Ogden, Jr. wasn’t allowed to contact her either.
Amanda Lofink, a deputy county attorney prosecuting the case, said that Ogden, Jr.’s wife submitted a written statement but didn’t want to speak in court.
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In arguing against the bail reduction, Lofink said that the prosecution was working on discovery and providing it to the defense.
She said there was evidence of injuries to those involved and that “his actions throughout this case show otherwise,” in terms of his respect for authority, including sneaking out of his house with his brother and attempting to hide a gun as police were responding in August.
Lofink said it was great he was willing to get help, but it “doesn’t negate” Ogden, Jr.’s actions and he had gone away for treatment after the June incident and then there was a second incident in August.
She said that Ogden, Jr. threatened multiple people with a gun, including a witness who testified on his behalf, including trying to get his child to shoot her own mother.
“He’s put this whole family through unbelievable trauma,” Lofink said.
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Judge John Parker said during the Oct. 29 hearing that under Montana bail laws, that he considered the defense’s points raised in Ogden, Jr.’s favor such as local ties and compliance with court conditions, but that the prosecution made a stronger argument about his potential noncompliance.
Parker said that his employment history weighs against him and while he’s innocent until proven guilty, it’s “concerning that a person with such extensive firearms training through the U.S. military and local law enforcement” was “reckless” with firearms, as alleged in the case.
Parker said that their children were being put at the “heart of an extraordinarily dangerous situation,” and maintained bail at $500,000 with a requirement for GPS monitoring if he bonds out of jail.
Over the summer, he was held in the Choteau County jail and initially prosecutors requested a $250,000 bond, but Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki said that they’d learned more through the investigation the morning following his arrest of the August and June incident, prompting them to request a $500,000 bond, which the judge granted.
Racki told The Electric over the summer that Ogden Jr.’s wife and family members wouldn’t talk to investigators after the June incident. He said he sent officers twice to speak to the wife and she wouldn’t cooperate.
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Ogden, Jr. and his brother James Ogden were charged in August in relation to the summer incidents.
James Ogden appeared in court on Sept. 24 on felony charges of obstruction and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence for his role in the August incident.
Judge Dave Grubich reduced his bail to $5,000 in that case, but he’s not to discuss the case with his brother, other family members or witnesses.
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James Ogden’s charges stem from an early morning incident on Aug. 17 when deputies were dispatched to 1015 4th Ave. S. for a report that Lloyde Paul Ogden, Jr. was threatening suicide, on several behavioral health medications, was drinking and had retrieved his handgun.
According to the updated charging documents, CCSO responded to 1015 4th Ave. S. around 3 a.m. Aug. 17 for reports that Ogden Jr. had a gun and was threatening suicide. His wife told responders that he was on several behavioral health medications, drinking, made suicidal comments then retrieved his handgun.
She told responders that she attempted to take the gun away and their three children were in the house, but he kicked her in the knee and stomach, pointed the gun at her several times and said, “if you try to take the gun again, I’m gonna shoot you and kill myself,” according to court documents.
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After 911 was called and deputies were on scene, Ogden Jr. fled the scene with his brother to 1406 5th Ave. N., James Ogden’s residence, with the gun used in the August incident.
Ogden Jr.’s wife was later interviewed at CCSO and told officers about what had occured in June when officers previously responded to reports of him being suicidal as well as the Aug. 17 incident. Further details of those incidents are included in the new charging documents filed on Sept. 26. No charges had initially been filed in the June incident.
His wife told investigators that in June, Ogden, Jr., had discovered she’d “cheated” and became angry, taking her phone and keys, leaving the residence but later returning and questioning her throughout the night into the early morning, slapping her in the face about seven times if he didn’t like her responses. He was also destructive in the residence.
She told investigators that during the day, Ogden, Jr. told her to remove her clothes because he wanted to see a bruise and when she complied, he dragged her by the wrists through the house outside to gravel where cars were parked, calling her “trash,” according to court documents. She went back inside, got dressed and they eventually had makeup sex, so she believed everything was okay, according to court documents, but the next morning, Ogden, Jr. slapped her again, made her say goodbye to her children and kicked her out of the residence. Later, he called telling her to return because he couldn’t handle their three children.
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When she returned, Ogden, Jr. yelled at her again, left the residence with a gun, then returned and ejected an unfired cartridge from the gun, removed the magazine, handed it to their 5-year-old daughter, instructing her to point it at her mother and pull the trigger, according to court documents.
The girl attempted to pull the trigger because Ogden, Jr. told her to but said she didn’t want to and was scared, saying that’s not what the gun was used for. When she started crying, Ogden, Jr. took the gun back, according to court documents.
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During the June incident, the wife told investigators that Ogden, Jr. called her names and she wrote in her application for an order of protection, “he then took the gun back and reloaded it when he followed me to the kitchen and backed me into a corner, put the gun my face and told me I wasn’t safe.”
She told investigators that she gathered the children and put them in a vehicle, then reentered the home, seeing Ogden, Jr. writing what appeared to be a suicide note while taking multiple shots of Everclear while maintaining possession of the gun.
The wife texted a friend that he was about to commit suicide and she needed help. The friend called law enforcement for a faster response. The wife tried to get the gun, but he grabbed her arm, turned her around and put the gun at her back forcing her to walk toward the door.
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As she was exiting the residence at gunpoint, law enforcement was arriving and Ogden, Jr. went back inside, closing the door. The wife told officers that Ogden, Jr. was intoxicated and threatening suicide. The wife was directed to back her car out of the alley and she left with the children, attempting to file a parenting plan in court, but Ogden, Jr. called her repeatedly, according to court documents.
The wife spent the night in a hotel with their children and Ogden, Jr. called the next morning offering to leave the house so the children could return, promising no further violence and that he’d seek help, according to court documents.
Asked why she told officers in June that her injuries weren’t caused by Ogden, Jr., she said that she was trying to protect him because he’d said he was sorry, it wouldn’t happen again and she believed him. She told investigators that they had security cameras that captured some the June incident, but Ogden, Jr. had told her to delete the footage.
Ogden, Jr. saw the footage sometime between June 19 and when he left for treatment on June 27. He returned on Aug. 1 and they agreed on separate sleeping arrangements and to pursue divorce, which he waffled on afterward, according to court documents.
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On Aug. 16, Ogden, Jr. had a “rough day” and bought Twisted Tea, drank three and the wife drank one, according to court documents. Shortly after midnight on Aug. 17, he wanted more to drink so his wife went to purchase something, with Ogden, Jr. taking a few shots when she returned and playing video games, yelling at her.
The wife “became fed up and went to lie down. [Ogden, Jr.] followed her stating ‘you don’t even care about me’
to which [the wife] started laughing because she was ‘over it’ and didn’t want to deal with it anymore. [Ogden, Jr.} then started crying and left the room to call his brother James,” according to court documents. At that point, the wife
heard the distinct sound of [Ogden, Jr.] cokcing the gun.”
The wife jumped out of bed, losing her phone in the process, and saw Ogden, Jr. with the gun pointed underneath his chin, crying and talking on his cell. She ran toward him and he ran outside as she followed screaming for help, according to court documents.
Their younger two children woke and saw portions of the incident, including Ogden, Jr. running through the house with the gun and kicking their mothers in the knee area and pushing her backward, according to charging documents. During the struggle, the wife told investigators that Ogden, Jr. had said he was going to shoot her and then himself, pointing it at her chest.
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Their 5-year-old daughter was forensically interviewed and was initially reluctant to discuss details, but told investigators that Ogden, Jr. had “kicked [the wife] in the stomach and got her in the hospital” for a few days, according to court documents. The child initially said she didn’t see her father doing anything, but investigators told her she was safe, wouldn’t get in trouble and her father was in jail at the time, and she said that Ogden, Jr. had “tried to kill himself” and “did bad stuff to mommy.”
She told investigators that Ogden, Jr. had held the gun under his chin and said “goodbye world,” and that he had previously been “trying to make me shoot mommy,” according to court documents.
At the time the call was dispatched to the August incident, Great Falls Police officers were handling a fatal vehicle crash in the city limits and had requested CCSO to take calls within the city limits, Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said.
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On scene, deputies gave commands over a bullhorn and phone communication was later established, Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said in August.
Ogden, Jr. briefly appeared at the door, but ignored deputies commands and went back inside.
His wife exited the house, provided additional information and was evaluated by medical personnel for minor injuries, Slaughter said.
Sometime after deputies arrived on scene, Ogden’s brother, James Ogden, picked him up and drove him to his house at 1406 5th Ave. N., later telling investigators that he “went and scooped him up.”
On the phone, Ogden, Jr. told deputies a family member had picked him up and agreed to meet deputies at his brother’s house.
At that point, deputies entered Ogden’s home, the site of the initial call, to secure the three children. The firearm wasn’t located there, but a live pistol cartridge was recovered, Slaughter said.
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Deputies located Lloyde Ogden, Jr. at his brother’s house and James Ogden told deputies he was unaware of a missing firearm and that he’d need to speak with Lloyde before making any decisions after being advised that he could face criminal charges for concealing evidence, according to court documents filed in August.
A search warrant was executed at James Ogden’s property where the firearm was located in one of the vehicles, according to court documents.
In August, Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said of the June incident, “family members were evacuated to safety after reports of physical assault and threats with a handgun. Video evidence and witness accounts documented Ogden behaving aggressively while armed, and during subsequent phone conversations with a Sheriff’s Office co-worker, he admitted to assaulting a family member and threatening others. Ogden’s victims and witnesses refused to cooperate or provide statements to police.”
Ogden Jr. was not initially charged in the June incident, but during the investigation, voluntarily entered an inpatient treatment program in Florida from June 26 to Aug. 1.
CCSO began an internal affairs investigation into Ogden Jr. on Aug. 5 and during an Aug. 12 interview, Slaughter said that Ogden Jr. gave conflicting statements about the June incident, admitting to policy violations but denying criminal conduct and multiple witnesses failed to appear for scheduled interviews.
“The escalating pattern of dangerous and criminal behavior exhibited by this employee represents a clear threat to public safety and a serious breach of the ethics every law enforcement officer takes,” Slaughter said. “No one is above the law, and we will not tolerate criminal conduct by our personnel under any circumstances.”
Ogden Jr. was hired by CCSO in July 2021 and was on paid administrative leave since the June incident. On Aug. 18, he was on unpaid administrative leave while going through the process outlined in the detention officers collective bargaining agreement.
By Sept. 2, he was no longer employed by Cascade County.
Slaughter said over the summer that Ogden Jr. had not been serving in any capacity for the sheriff’s office while on leave from the June incident and he wasn’t aware of any other incidents or issues involving Ogden prior to the June incident.
He said that the hiring and vetting process has changed since 2021 and that CCSO is continuing to improve that process.
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