Convicted killer out on parole

HELENA (AP) - A Kalispell man who was convicted of killing two men in 1978 by running over them while they rode a bicycle has been granted parole.

Jacob H. Woods, an inmate at the Montana State Prison, can be released upon completion of prerelease and three months of "transitional living," the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole said at a recent hearing in Deer Lodge.

Woods, 45, must undergo random drug testing and regular chemical dependency and mental health counseling, the board said. He also must complete 24 weeks of partner/family member assault classes. In addition, he must avoid alcohol, stay out of bars and comply with other conditions.

Woods was convicted of two counts of murder in 1981. According to court records, the men owed Woods money for drugs, and he drove into them while they were riding a bicycle on U.S. 93 near the Kalispell City Airport.

The men - 17-year-old Ronald Johnson and 21-year-old Phillip Kessner - were discovered on the side of the road the next day and taken to the hospital. One was dead on arrival, the other died about a half-hour later.

Acting on a tip, authorities arrested Woods more than two years later in Oklahoma.

Another inmate, Damien M. Hill of Columbia Falls, has been denied parole.

Hill pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in a May 2003 drunken driving crash that killed his friend Russell Howell.

The parole board denied Hill's release but said he could enter prerelease after a year of "clear conduct."

The board also denied release to James R. Bowers II, who was convicted of killing Travis W. McCully in Eureka in 1989.

According to court records, Bowers shot McCully once in the chest on June 8, 1989, following a night of drinking, then hid in the mountains for a week before surrendering to the Lincoln County sheriff's department. He was later convicted of murder and use of a dangerous weapon.

The parole board ordered Bowers to appear for another hearing in July.

Meanwhile, board members placed Floyd Spurlock, who was granted parole several years ago, back on active supervision after he violated the conditions of his release, said Craig Thomas, executive director of the board.

Spurlock, who was convicted of killing a man in a Libby bar in 1985, had been placed on "conditional discharge from supervision," meaning he was required to report to a parole officer only once a year by mail.

The boarded rescinded that discharge after Spurlock was "involved in alcohol use," Thomas said. Spurlock was convicted of stabbing Ron Meyer to death during a quarrel on Dec. 13, 1985.

The parole board told another inmate, Jeff Tripp of Lockwood, to return for another hearing with an "appropriate mental health release plan."

According to court records, Tripp was convicted of murder and use of a dangerous weapon after fatally shooting his older brother on Feb. 19, 1991. He became eligible for parole in 1999.

The board also decided it will not require former Montana State Prison inmate Raymond Paul Bourne to complete an enhanced supervision program.

Board members ordered Bourne to complete the program when they granted him parole in November. Last month, members deleted that condition of his release but affirmed all others.

"They felt it wasn't necessary," Thomas said.

Bourne spent nearly 20 years in prison for accountability to murder and use of a dangerous weapon in the 1988 shooting death of John Roberts, a long-haul truck driver from Vaughn. He was released from prison in early March and moved to Helena.