Parks Board OK'd plea deal with Mitchell

While some may not be happy about a proposed plea agreement between the state Attorney General’s Office and Flathead County Commissioner Phil Mitchell, the county Parks and Recreation Department is on board.

Jed Fisher, director of Flathead County Parks and Recreation, told the Daily Inter Lake that the department was ready to move forward from the incident in which five cottonwood trees in a county-owned park on Whitefish Lake were allegedly girdled and poisoned by Mitchell in July 2017.

Court documents indicate Mitchell, a Whitefish resident, will plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief and pay $16,000 in restitution to the Flathead County Parks and Recreation Department. Mitchell originally pleaded not guilty to a felony charge. A change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for Friday in Flathead County District Court.

“We have heard many comments against the plea agreement, but the state did the best it could,” Fisher said. “The Parks Board authorized the state Attorney General’s Office to make this deal so we can get the dead trees removed and make this public park whole again.

“The cottonwood trees were large, established trees. They are dead and need to be removed. The continuation of this case has done nothing for our public park,” Fisher said.

Fisher also clarified that five trees were girdled and then Roundup was dumped in the middle of them.

Before Mitchell pleaded not guilty last year, he publicly apologized in letters for girdling and poisoning the trees.

According to court documents, the dead or dying trees were discovered in July 2017 by a Flathead County Parks and Recreation employee in Lake Park Addition. The park is in a location adjacent to a residence owned by Mitchell overlooking Whitefish Lake. Court documents state that Mitchell may be trying to sell that property.

While the agreement and payment of the restitution would put an apparent end to the matter, Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry told the Inter Lake last week he was “embarrassed to be part of the criminal justice” after hearing terms of the plea agreement.

“I thought the state would hold him more accountable for his actions,” Curry said. “The public expects transparency and resolutions in this case may deter the public trust in their officials.”

But the state Attorney General’s office defended the proposed agreement.

Eric Sell, director of communications for the Montana Department of Justice, said in a statement, “It appears Sheriff Curry wants the Attorney General’s Office to charge Mr. Mitchell with a crime that would result in Mitchell’s removal from office. The prosecutors within the Attorney General’s Office use their best judgment in every case they process. They do not change their prosecution of crimes based on personal disputes between individuals — whether elected officials or private citizens. The plea agreement, which has the full support of the Flathead County Parks Department, is consistent with Montana law and holds Mr. Mitchell accountable for his crime. The operations of our office will not be affected by politics.”

In a conversation with the Daily Inter Lake, Sell said the county Parks Department was heavily involved in the agreement.

“Their thoughts about the case were a large part of the formulation of the agreement,” Sell said. “How do we make the park whole again?”

Sell also said the plea agreement was consistent with Montana law and such agreements are not uncommon.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.