Robber has to restart 2004 sentence

Man restarts 5-year robbery sentence for 2004 crime

A man convicted of robbery in 2004 will have to restart his sentence after numerous probation violations.

Timothy Dale Journot, 31, admitted in Flathead District Court on Wednesday that he had fled from probation, used marijuana and traveled to Florida and Washington against the conditions of his probation.

He also received traffic tickets and failed out of a drug court program in Cut Bank. Journot was serving a 17-year suspended sentence for robbery.

Journot said that he recently wanted to turn himself in and bought a train ticket from Washington to Cut Bank to visit his family one last time. He said he knew he would be arrested because Cut Bank is a small town.

“I went to see my grandma,” Journot said. “I was pretty sure I wasn’t ever going to see her again. I wanted to see my kids, my mom, my dad, before I turned myself in.”

Journot did not make it to Cut Bank. Libby Police took him into custody on Nov. 29.

Journot said he looked forward to treatment to straighten out his marijuana addiction.

Prosecutor Allison Howard pointed out that Journot managed to take a serious but isolated incident in his teens and drag it out into adulthood.

Judge Robert Allison reiterated Howard’s point.

“You can get to be as old as me and still have this ongoing,” Allison said. “This is a classic example of where a probationary sentence, if somebody repeats frequently, a five-year sentence can turn into a lifetime installment plan, if you handle it poorly. I know there is a part of our culture that things following rules is not cool or stupid, but all of us, regardless of how ‘cool’ or ‘with it’ you may be, have to follow the rules or we end up in orange jumpsuits.”

Journot was sentenced to 10 years with the Montana Department of Corrections, with five years suspended.

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