Man given second chance after cutting mom's brake lines

A Kalispell man could have been locked away for 15 years in the Montana State Prison for cutting his mother’s car brake lines and possessing dangerous drugs, but Flathead District Judge Stewart Stadler on Thursday decided to take a more lenient route.

After hearing testimony that Corey Jonathan Woods, 23, had been working toward turning his life around, Stadler gave him to a five-year deferred sentence.

Woods was convicted of one count of criminal endangerment and one count of felony possession of dangerous drugs.

Woods admitted that he cut his mother’s brake lines after an argument on June 15, 2015. She discovered the crime when she tried to brake while driving down a busy roadway. She was uninjured.

The possession of dangerous drugs conviction resulted after Woods was found in possession of methamphetamine on March 5.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys originally agreed to a five-year deferred sentence as part of a plea bargain, but Stadler and Flathead District Court Judge Amy Eddy initially rejected the plea after Woods’ mother took the stand on the original sentencing date and said that she wanted to see her son do five years of prison time for trying to kill her.

She did not appear at Thursday’s sentencing, though prosecutor Andrew Clegg said that she still wanted Woods to do prison time.

Independent counselor Paul Sells evaluated Woods and said that prison time or a commitment to the Montana Department of Corrections would not be the best fit for Woods. Sells found that Woods was raised by parents who had chemical dependency issues and had a volatile relationship with their son. Woods was also sent across the country to a strict boarding school at an early age where he was abused by staff and other students, the counselor found.

Woods has post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and chemical dependency issues that are triggered by his mother’s presence, Sells said.

Woods expressed genuine remorse about cutting his mother’s brake lines, Sells said.

“Despite the severity and egregiousness of his act against his mother, I still believe he is very deserving of an opportunity to be in the community,” Sells said.

Woods took the witness stand and said that since he was released in September 2015 to live in a truck camper in the Walmart parking lot, he was able to find housing for his family and take on a roofing job where he quickly rose to the position of foreman.

“I’m actually in charge of a lot of guys who are twice my age,” Woods said. “It was very hard to get where I am. I worked very hard to accomplish all that I have.”

Woods and his fiancée had a child on Jan. 1 and he said he wants to continue being a father figure to his fiancee’s 9-year-old son.

He has identified treatment programs for his chemical dependency and mental health issues that he is required to enroll in as part of his sentence.

“I know that what I did was unspeakable, it was extremely drastic and I know how it looks,” Woods said with tears in his eyes. “I’m really ashamed of what I did. I just want to prove to everyone, to my family and to my community that I have potential to be much, much more. I’m not the person that you read about in the papers.”

Stadler said that he did not initially intend to give Woods a deferred sentence, but after hearing the testimony of Sells he thought it might be a better option to help Woods treat his various mental health and chemical dependency issues.

Stadler warned Woods that if he came back before the court for violating the terms of his probation, the judge would not hesitate to impose a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

Clegg said he would pursue a prison sentence if Woods ended up before the court again.

“It looks bad because it is bad,” Clegg said. “The gravity of this situation is not lost in this case.”

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