Charles Jackson, 17, appeared in youth court on Nov. 25 on several cases with the prosecution recommending that he be sent to Pine Hills, the Montana Department of Corrections’ juvenile facility.

Jackson had been a repeat offender with 15 youth court cases from 2022 to present, most of which were violent and property offenses.

The cases before Judge John Kutzman were related to sentencing conditions and new cases, but Jackson didn’t appear to have gotten into any new trouble for several months, according to the lawyers, his juvenile probation officer and the judge.

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In previous cases, Jackson had received a suspended sentence to Pine Hills with conditions that he not commit new crimes, not engage in any gang activity or associated with those in gangs or convicted of crimes.

In one condition, he was expressly prohibited from associating with two boys, brothers, who are both currently facing charges in youth court, and are known associates of the juvenile gang involved in the Nov. 3 shooting near McDonald’s.

Appearing in a suit before Kutzman on Nov. 25, Jackson answered questions about his actions in several cases that had occured while he was on probation.

For one, last summer, Jackson was accused of stealing a Dodge pickup; in another in November 2024, he was accused of assault with a weapon and in January 2025, was charged with accountability to robbery.

In the January incident, Jackson was with Jeffrey Dezort, 19, at the Holiday Casino on Central Avenue West where they assaulted a man who’s wallet fell out and Dezort took the victim’s money, according to court records and statements made in court.

Dezort was charged with felony robbery in that incident.

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Kutzman asked Jackson if he understood that he had been on probation in several cases, each of which had a condition to obey laws and not get any new charges.

As a result of that past behavior, the state recommended that Jackson be sent to Pine Hills until he turned 18 with two years of probation after that.

Jackson will turn 18 in October 2026.

The prosecution was also seeking restitution of $4,463.19, to be split between Jackson and another juvenile charged with him in three incidents.

He can do community toward the restitution.

Kutzman said the court was considering Jackson to Pine Hills, he wanted to hear from his juvenile probation officer.

Shawn Baker has supervised Jackson since April 2024 and is coming up on two years as a juvenile probation officer, with previous law enforcement experience.

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He said that Jackson had serious charges in youth court that would have been felonies as an adult.

Jackson’s criminal activity was “quite frequent to say the least,” with a three page history in youth court.

He was already on a suspended sentence to Pine Hills and law enforcement and the court had been dealing with him regularly, but over the last few months, they hadn’t seen much from him, Baker said, but was still cautious.

Under cross examination from Jackson’s defense attorney, Lindsey Mittlestadt, Baker said that he’d done well while on GPS this year and recently moved in with his mom from a residence near the courthouse.

Baker said that Jackson had signed up to take the HiSet for his his school diploma and was working to earn money to pay the fee.

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Abram Baca, pastor at Potter’s House Church, testified on Jackson’s behalf, saying the teen started coming to church in March and since then, had become like a son to him.

Baca said that he’d become personally invested in Jackson, who’d spent the night at his house and been around his kids.

Jackson was choosing better friends and trying to move past where he was, Baca said. He said Jackson didn’t have parental guidance before and didn’t fully comprehend the long term consequences of his actions when he was hanging out with friends and doing something “stupid.”

Baca said “I fully believe in redemption,” and had seen a change in Jackson in recent months after going through a “spree of bad decisions.”

Baca said that he believes Jackson can decide to make a full comeback and if he makes more mistakes, he’s well aware we’re giving him every opportunity.

Mittlestadt said her office was also in the same situation a few months ago, thinking Pine Hills was inevitable, but “he’s been able to turn this around kind of in a miraculous way.”

Kutzman said there was a time when Jackson was “a thorn in my side” and in dealing with his many cases, thought there was no way out of a Pine Hills commitment.

He said it appeared Jackson had started to turn his life around in recent months, but the trick is whether he can sustain that.

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“It seems like he has his feet under him in a way he hasn’t before,” and “it sounds like he has made a lot of positive changes. I think he knows if he screws up, he’s going to Pine Hills.”

Jackson said that he got himself a job and took himself to church.

“I turned myself around. I’ve been doing good, believe I can still do good,” Jackson said.

Kutzman said it was frustrating in the past having to deal with Jackson what felt like every day and it took time away from his other cases.

At that point, “I was thinking if I’d ever run into a guy that needed to go to Pine Hills, it was you,” Kutzman said.

Then he came to court in a suit, something he sees from few others, including adult defendants, and his juvenile probation officer said he’d seen a significant change in Jackson’s behavior in recent months.

That spoke volumes, Kutzman said, plus his pastor, who was one of the “best mitigating witnesses I’ve ever seen.”

The bottom line, Kutzman said, is “I don’t want to send you or anybody else to Pine Hills. I will if I have to.”

He said he wants to see if Jackson can continue on the better path and if he doesn’t, he won’t have much patience for it.

“You deserve the chance,” Kutzman said. “I’m going to give you some rope and see what you can do with it.”

Kutzman ordered that Jackson pay restitution and remain on probation until age 21, with the option of Pine Hills still on the table.

His conditions also remain that he’s not to participate in any gang activity or associate with those individuals, including two boys specifically.

“I’m at peace with what I’ve done here, I hope it works out,” Kutzman said.