Charlotte Andrade had a status hearing in district court March 4 for her deliberate homicide case. She reportedly terminated her private attorney and Judge David Grubich asked the Montana Office of the State Public Defender whether new counsel could be assigned. Roger Renville of OPD said that if Andrade agreed, Vince van der Hagen, who was representing her previously, could
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Terry Graeter was sentenced March 4 in district court on an arson case. Under a plea agreement, Graeter entered a guilty plea in January to felony arson for an August 2025 fire at Ace Hardware store at 215 N.W. Bypass. The agreement included sentencing recommendations that the prosecution and court were not bound by since Graeter did not comply with
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The local 911 dispatch system went down for several hours in the early hours of March 3. The outage was due to maintenance on a fiber optic line that apparently caused a multi-county outage for cell coverage, affecting the 911 dispatch system from about 12:30-3 a.m. on March 3, according to multiple local officials. A reader contacted The Electric on
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Two juveniles associated with local gang activity were in Judge John Parker’s court on March 3. Geronimo Standinghorn is facing several pending misdemeanor charges. Standinghorn, 14, also has a pending felony attempted deliberate homicide charge that was transferred to youth court last week before Judge Elizabeth Best. 14-year-old charged with attempted deliberate homicide in Nov. 3 shooting will be tried
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Jeremy Virts has been named the new Great Falls Fire Rescue chief, effective immediately. Virts succeeds former chief Jeremy Jones, who assumed the role of deputy city manager in October. Virts began his career with the Great Falls Police Department in 2000, reaching the rank of senior patrolman and serving as a medic with the High Rick Unit. City names
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Geronimo Standinghorn will be tried in youth court in the Nov. 3 gang-related shooting near the McDonald’s and Phoenix Apartments on 10th Avenue South. Standinghorn was about a month shy of his 14th birthday at the time of the shooting and has been held in the Cascade County Juvenile Detention Center since, charged with a felony count of attempted deliberate
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Damarcus Thompkins, 19, was arrested Feb. 17 on a felony charge of custodial interference for housing a 15-year-old runaway, knowing she was reported as missing, and in violation of a previous bail condition that he not have contact with minors. According to court documents, Great Falls Police officers responded Feb. 6 to a mother’s report of a runaway and missing
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A group of locals is continuing their effort to educate the community about long-term public safety funding challenges and the potential need for a levy. The Electric City Citizens for Public Safety committee initially formed in 2023 to support the city’s public safety levy and bond on that year’s ballot. The levy and bond failed. The vote on the levy
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Albert Denny was sentenced in district court Feb. 18 for his part in an Aug. 21 crash and police pursuit. Under a plea agreement, Denny plead guilty to a felony count of burglary in December and a misdemeanor count of obstructing a peace officer was dismissed. Judge David Grubich sentenced him to a five year commitment to the Montana Department
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Terry Graeter appeared in district court on Feb. 18 for an update in his arson case. Under a plea agreement, Graeter entered a guilty plea in January to felony arson for an August 2025 fire at Ace Hardware store at 215 N.W. Bypass. His sentencing is currently scheduled for March 4, but he hadn’t filled out his pre-sentence investigation paperwork
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