Attorney General’s Office Says No Basis for Charges in Lake County

POLSON, Mont. (AP) — The Attorney General's office says there's no basis for filing charges against the Lake County sheriff or others in his department on three matters the sheriff asked the state to investigate.

Assistant Attorney General Brant Light said Deputy Ben Woods' allegation that another deputy illegally accessed his computer could not be proven. However Light recommended that Woods be reported to the Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training Council after he allegedly illegally tape-recorded conversations between Sheriff Jay Doyle and another officer.

Light found an allegation that Doyle allegedly told another deputy not to investigate an incident at an elementary school was an overreaction on the part of the complaining deputy, while a complaint that a deputy exaggerated his law enforcement experience in seeking a warrant did not justify a perjury charge because the warrant was not served.