Man claims mental illness caused assaultive rampage

A man testified Thursday that he was not in his right mind when he went on an assaultive rampage at the Appleway Apartments in Kalispell on Aug. 6.

James Michael Reeves pleaded guilty via Alford plea to one count of felony burglary and one count of felony assault with a weapon before Flathead District Judge Amy Eddy on Dec. 15. An Alford plea convicts an individual who admits that there is a significant chance that the defendant could be found guilty at trial, but allows him or her to maintain innocence.

“I’ve never hurt anyone intentionally,” Reeves said. “This will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

According to Reeves’ attorney, Reeves was evaluated by a mental health professional who determined that “Reeves had a mental disorder at the time of the offense and didn’t know right from wrong.”

According to court documents, Reeves allegedly threw a man down a stairway at the Appleway Apartments after the man approached Reeves because the man had heard an unexplained disturbance. The man was injured and had to be tended to by emergency medical technicians.

Officers learned that the disturbance may have been the sound of Reeves assaulting a family member. The woman had been watching TV when Reeves allegedly started punching her in the face without any provocation. Reeve’s then allegedly grabbed the woman’s computer and hit her with it repeatedly. The laptop was broken into two pieces and the woman suffered a broken nose. When the woman’s caretaker tried to intervene, Reeves allegedly chased him and hit him in the side of the head.

Reeves then ran into a nearby apartment. The occupant, who didn’t know Reeves, said she awoke to a stranger standing over her. Reeves allegedly then began hitting her with a kitchen chair. The woman rolled off the couch and ran toward a back room, where her husband was able to fend off Reeves. The woman had several bruises and cuts on her forearms, hands and thighs.

Reeves fled and was caught by officers without incident. He allegedly told officers he was under the influence of several types of drugs at the time.

According to court documents, Reeves’ legal history includes prior arrests in Wisconsin for drug offenses, carrying a deadly weapon, felony bail jumping, strangulation and suffocation, and burglary involving battery on a person.

Reeves has been committed to the Montana State Hospital for a second opinion on his mental health diagnosis. Prosecutor Travis Ahner said there is a recommendation to sentence Reeves to 20 years with the Montana Department of Corrections, with 10 years suspended if the evaluator finds that he was actually mentally incapacitated. If the evaluator finds that Reeves was in his right mind, then Ahner said he will recommend that the judge send Reeves to prison. Sentencing was set for May.

“Having those evaluations done by the state hospital can take months,” Judge Eddy noted.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.