Pondera County Sheriff's Office

09/30/2026

🚨 SCAM ALERT 🚨

A Pondera County citizen brought another scam to our attention which they received.

Publishers Clearing House
States you won the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, this one for $2.5 million. Enclosed is a check, this one for $8.5k, which they say is to cover insurance and attorney fees. If you try cashing the check, they'll eventually ask you to send them that money for the fees, saying they covered it with the check. Then, the check bounces or gets canceled, and you get stuck with having to pay the bank back.

Do not fall for it! The best advice we can give is, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you are questioning something, let us know, and we can help to advise if something is real or not. Stay safe everyone.

09/24/2026

Great information from the Great Falls Police Department.

E-BIKE VS E-MOTO - Across the state, communities are seeing a dramatic increase in youths and adults riding electric motorcycles that are built for off-road use (dirt bikes) on public roadways. Many are under the impression that these vehicles are the same as an electrically "assisted" bicycle but, according to Montana Code Annotated (MCA), they're not.

MCA classifies electric motorcycle/dirt bikes as motorcycles. To be legally driven on a public street or highway, a motorcycle (gas or electric powered) must meet all the requirements regarding registration, lights, and insurance, and the driver must follow licensing, endorsement, helmet, and traffic laws.

HOW TO TELL - The critical term to look at is "assisted". Is the vehicle movement assisted or solely propelled by electric motor? If it is driven by pedals under human power, with an electric motor to assist, that is an "Electrically assisted bicycle" (MCA 61-8-102(7)). If it is propelled solely by an electric motor, that is a "Motorcycle" (MCA 61-1-101(43)(a), (c)).

QUICK TEST
1 - Does it have pedals that can propel the vehicle under human power?
2 - Does it top out at 20 MPH for a 170 lb person on a flat surface?

If you answered "no" to either of these questions, the vehicle is a motorcycle (per MCA) and it is not legal to be driven on Montana roadways, no matter what the manufacturer's box/label says, or what your buddy told you.

09/15/2026

The Pondera County Sheriff’s Office is accepting applications for a Deputy Sheriff position with location TBD. The starting wage is $27.39 per hour.

Application, job description, and benefit package are available at the Cut Bank Job Service, located at 501 E. Main St., Cut Bank, MT 59427, the Pondera County Sheriff’s Office located at 20 4th Ave. SW, Ste 109, Conrad, MT 59425, on our page at https://www.facebook.com/ponderacountysheriff, or on our website at https://www.ponderacountymontana.org/employment.

Completed applications can be dropped off or mailed to the Sheriff’s Office in Conrad, 20 4th Ave SW, Ste 109, Conrad, MT 59425, or emailed to Undersheriff Robert Bender at [email protected].

We will accept applications until the position is filled.

09/15/2026

Hello! The Clerk of District Court and the Sheriff's Office would like to thank all those who were able to get their questionnaires done and turned back in. There were a lot of questions about the process, so since we still have quite a large list of missing questionnaires, here are the statutes that govern the process:

MCA 3-15-405. Notice to jurors. The clerk of court shall serve notice by mail on the persons drawn as jurors. The clerk of court may attach to the notice a jury questionnaire and a form for an affidavit claiming an excuse from service provided for in 3-15-313.

MCA 3-15-501. Order directing that trial jury be drawn and summoned. (1) If a civil or criminal case has been at issue and ready for trial for more than 6 months and the plaintiff or defendant has requested a jury trial or whenever the business of a district court requires the attendance of a trial jury for the trial of civil or criminal cases and a jury is not in attendance, the court shall order a trial jury to be drawn and summoned to attend before the court. The order must specify the number of jurors to be drawn. The time at which the jurors are required to attend is at the discretion of the court.

(2) The court may direct that a criminal or civil proceeding in which a jury may be required or may have been demanded be continued and fixed for trial at a time when a jury will be in attendance.

(3) The judge or judges of a district or the judge of a department may designate that jury service in the district or department is on a "one-day or one-trial" basis; that is, each individual juror is excused for the rest of the year after having attended for 1 day and not having been selected to serve at the trial of a particular cause or after having completed service at a trial.

(4) If the number of unexcused jurors is not sufficient to meet current requirements at any time, jurors excused under subsection (3) may be required to serve.

(5) The clerk of court shall send a summons to a person selected as a juror drawn pursuant to 3-15-503. If not sent with the notice provided for in 3-15-405, the summons must include the jury questionnaire as to the person's qualifications to serve as a juror and a form for an affidavit claiming an excuse from service provided for in 3-15-313. The person shall respond as required in the summons as to their qualifications to serve as a juror.

(6) If a person fails to respond to the summons, the clerk of court shall attempt to contact a nonresponding person by telephone or other electronic communication.

(7) If a person fails to respond to the summons and the clerk of court has completed the actions required in subsection (6), the clerk of court shall certify the failure to the sheriff, who shall make reasonable efforts to require the person to appear on the date required by the summons.

(8 ) For the purposes of subsection (7), "reasonable efforts" include any two of the following actions:

(a) publishing the list of persons who failed to respond in or on any of the following:

(i) a newspaper of general circulation;

(ii) a web-based news site; or

(iii) government-controlled or government-sponsored social media or web pages for the specific jurisdiction;

(b) attempted contact by telephone;

(c) attempted contact by other electronic communication;

(d) posting a physical notice at a last-known address;

(e) attempted personal service; or

(f) attempted contact by United States postal service first-class mail.

(9) Failure by the clerk of court or the sheriff to strictly adhere to the provisions of this section may not constitute grounds to invalidate a jury pool or a jury.

So, as you can see, the law mandates those questionnaires be returned, or the Clerk of District Court is required to notify the Sheriff and have those questionnaires served on the person, which takes up a lot of time for the deputies to track everyone down.

So in one last effort to have those questionnaires returned before the last list is sent to the Sheriff to start tracking people down, here are those the Clerk of District Court is missing questionnaires from:

Conrad
Bennett, Justin C.
Billmayer, Joshua
Burruss, Lori
Carvajal, Taylor
Curran, Ryan
Fink, Stephanie
Harris, Amber
Haws, Dominick
Henderson, Jessie
Hofer, Calvin Sam
Hofer, Matthew Jacob
Jones, Kadin
Judisch, Kyle
King, Shane
Knobel, Elijah W.
Knobel, Jessie
Laverdure, Bradley
Lundin, Cody
Machado, Kristen
Matye, Laura
McClue, Antoinette M.
Missik, Matthew T.
Moore, Ethan D.
Moore, Jacob
Oquendo, Engelbert A.
Oquendo, Jeffry J.
Oquendo, Maria A.
Peterson, Halia
Philipps, Lauren
Pyper, Brendan R.
Quayle, James T
Schneider, Michael
Smith, Tamatha
Stinar, Collette
Trammel, Tara
Wharton, Brenda L.
White, Toni
Willason, Marcus R.
Wilson, Ty E.

Brady
Martinsen, Dawn M.
Vineyard, Jacob

Dupuyer
Pedersen, Virgil

Heart Butte
Aimsback, Amanda L.
Bearchild, Richard J.
Boy, Laurie A.
Bremner, Wesley F.
Bullchild, Chad E.
Bullchild, Shawn J.
Calfbossribs, Benjamin
Comesatnight, Joseph W.
Comesatnight, Kayla F.
Crawford, Thomas J.
Dayrider, Eric F.
Dogtakinggun, Jonathan
Dustybull, Lee W.
Grant, Thomas A.
Kipp, Natowakee O.
Loring, Justin S.
Loring, Logan B.
McKay, Joslyn R.
McKay, Mykayla R.
Morningstar, Irie P.
Nomee, Tashina R.
Rutherford, Milton E.
Scabbyrobe, Makenna G.
Scabbyrobe, Mykendall
Skunkcap, Stormi
Spottedeagle, Marti L.
Standingelk, Collette
Wagner, Jera D.
Wells, Aaron D.
Wells, Sonya L.
Williamson, Ellery J.
Windyboy, Allison K.
Wolverine, Samuel J.

Valier
Beaudry, Zachary T
Bridge, Connor
Collier, Glynn
Dayrider, Carol
Franks, Dehlyn L.
Habets, Cindy L.
Jackson, Luke C.
Kleinsasser, Joseph JB
Kleinsasser, Leonard M.
Kleinsasser, Sam S.
Kleinsasser, Theodore M.
Martain, Vicki J.
Nelson, Ivy M.
Ramos, Jazmyn M.
Waldner, Gary J.
Wurtz, Joseph
Wurtz, Lawrence J.
Wurtz, Ned J.

If you know someone on the list and they want to get this taken care of without a visit from a deputy, have them contact the Clerk of District Court at (406) 271-4026. Thank you!!

09/11/2026

9/11/2026

Ad: Detention Officer

The Pondera County Sheriff’s is accepting applications for a Detention Officer position at the Pondera County Detention Center in Conrad, MT. The starting wage is $20.00 per hour and is eligible for longevity pay pursuant to Montana Code Annotated 7-4-2510.

Application, job description, and benefit package are available at the Cut Bank Job Service, located at 501 E. Main St., Cut Bank, MT 59427, the Pondera County Sheriff’s Office located at 20 4th Ave SW, Ste 109, Conrad, MT 59425, on our page at https://www.facebook.com/ponderacountysheriff, or on our website at https://www.pondercountymontana.org/employment.

Completed applications can be dropped off or mailed to the Sheriff’s Office in Conrad, 20 4th Ave SW, Ste 109, Conrad, MT 59425, or emailed to Undersheriff Robert Bender at [email protected].

We will accept applications until the position is filled.

09/02/2026

Great event for an even better cause! Come show your support and enjoy some 'friendly' competition 😉

***Cancelled due to weather / field conditions***

Hello! It is that time of year again for the annual Guns & Hoses game. Come on out for some food, prizes and fun!!

09/01/2026

Hello! Today, we had a new deputy sworn in! Please welcome Deputy Austin Mays, who will be stationed in Conrad.

Deputy Mays comes to us from Bozeman where he obtained a degree from Montana State University and attended the brand new Gallatin Academy as a pre-service candidate, which will allow him to earn his Montana P.O.S.T. Basic Certificate.

If you see Deputy Mays out and about, please be sure to introduce yourself and welcome him to our wonderful community!

08/28/2026

Hello citizens of Pondera County!

The Pondera County Clerk of District Court recently mailed out Questionnaires for Jury Summons. Unfortunately, the Sheriff's Office has received a large list of people who failed to respond. Regardless of your eligibility status, these questionnaires are to be returned to the Pondera County Clerk of District Court.

Soon, the Sheriff's Office will be attempting to locate and serve the following parties who have not turned in their questionnaires. This post will be updated once either a service is completed or the court receives your questionnaire.

Please know this is NOT a warrant for your arrest; it's strictly for jury duty. So if you don't want a deputy knocking on your door, you may want to r***e through the pile of old mail on your counter to see if you still have the questionnaire, fill it out, and then get it back to the Pondera County Clerk of District Court as soon as possible!

Conrad Area

Arends, Linda N.
Bennett, Justin C.
Billmayer, Joshua
Burruss, Lori
Carvajal, Taylor
Curran, Ryan
Dwello, William
Edwards, Amy
Fink, Stephanie
Fowler, Shawn
Gange, James
Gunderson, Rusty R.
Harris, Amber
Harris, Jayleen
Haws, Dominick
Henderson, Jessie
Hill, Johnathan
Hofer, Calvin Sam
Hofer, Matthew Jacob
Jones, Kadin
Judisch, Kyle
King, Shane
Knobel, Elijah W.
Knobel, Jessie
Laverdure, Bradley
Leivestad, Robert A
Lundin, Cody
Machado, Kristen
Matye, Laura
McClue, Antoinette M.
Missik, Matthew T.
Moore, Ethan D.
Moore, Jacob
Moritz, Garrett
Mullennax, Orrin
Olsen, Arvilene
Oquendo, Engelbert A.
Oquendo, Jeffry J.
Oquendo, Maria A.
Peterson, Halia n
Philipps, Lauren
Pyper, Brendan R.
Quayle, James T
Rasmussen, Casey
Schneider, Michael
Simonson, Amber
Smith, Tamatha
Starkey, Kaylee
Stinar, Collette
Sullivan, Chris D.
Trammel, Tara
Wharton, Brenda L.
White, Toni
Willason, Marcus R.
Wilson, Ty E.
Winfield, Logan M.
Winters, Corey
Young, Kaitlyn A.

Brady Area

Gray, Jacob A.
Martinsen, Dawn M.
Seccomb, Megan D.
Styren, Zachary T.
Vineyard, Jacob
Wakkinen, Launa

Dupuyer Area

Pedersen, Virgil

Heart Butte Area

Aimsback, Amanda L.
Bearchild, Richard J.
Boy, Laurie A.
Bremner, Wesley F.
Bullchild, Chad E.
Bullchild, Shawn J.
Calbossribs, Benjamin
Comesatnight, Joseph W.
Comesatnight, Kayla F.
Crawford, Thomas J.
Dayrider, Eric F.
Dogtakinggun, Jonathan
Dustybull, Lee W.
Grant, Thomas A.
Kipp, Natowakee O.
Loring, Justin S.
Loring, Logan B.
McKay, Joslyn R.
McKay, Mykayla R.
Morningstar, Irie P.
Nomee, Tashina R.
Runningwolf, Natalie G.
Rutherford, Milton E.
Scabbyrobe, Makenna G.
Scabbyrobe, Mykendall
Skunkcap, Stormi
Spottedeagle, Marti L.
Standingelk, Collette
Wagner, Jera D.
Walker, Allen W.
Wells, Aaron D.
Wells, Sonya L.
Whitequills, Lori M.
Williamson, Ellery J.
Windyboy, Allison K.
Wolverine, Samuel J.

Valier Area

Beaudry, Zachary T
Bowie, Andrea M.
Bridge, Connor
Collier, Glynn
Dayrider, Carol
Franks, Dehlyn L.
Habets, Cindy L.
Holm, Jeffrey K.
Jackson, Luke C.
Kleinsasser, Joseph JB
Kleinsasser, Leonard M.
Kleinsasser, Sam S.
Kleinsasser, Theodore M.
Martain, Vicki J.
Nelson, Ivy M.
Ramos, Jazmyn M.
Runningcrane, Austin T.
Runningcrane, Donald P.
Waldner, Gary J.
Widhalm, Lisa
Wurtz, Joseph
Wurtz, Lawrence J.
Wurtz, Ned J.

08/21/2026

Our last scam is a fun one and a complete surprise to us since we don't have an employee here by that name! If you receive a call or text from a Deputy John Campbell with the Pondera County Sheriff's Office requesting you call him back in regard to a legal matter, please ignore it, we do not have such a person working here!

We have attempted to contact 'Deputy' Campbell ourselves as we love proactive people, but impersonating a deputy is a bit much. If you happen to come in contact with 'Deputy' Campbell, please let him know that if he has that much free time and audacity, please apply for one of our open positions at the Sheriff's Office. The pay is legal, we promise...

08/21/2026

Our next scam is from a random text you may receive of someone advising you that they noticed you had wind damage to your roof and would love to schedule a time to come to your house to take care of it for you.

If you did not report damage to your house to someone, don't respond, they will attempt to get you to pay money upfront once you engage them, then never show. If you have any questions, please contact the Sheriff's Office at (406) 271-4060, we'll be happy to assist you!