Man blames bear attack for parole violation

A Great Falls man is claiming a grizzly bear attack last summer led to him violating his parole.

Flathead District Court Judge Robert Allison on March 9 revoked the two-year suspended sentence for Steven Boyd, 48, as a result of three reports of parole violation.

Parole officer Kenny LaMere alleged that Boyd lost his employment without notifying him, moved from his residence without notifying him, and failed to report altogether after August 2016.

Boyd denied moving from his residence and claimed that he had only been suspended indefinitely from his job.

While Boyd admitted to failing to stay in contact with his parole officer after August, he said he had been recovering from a grizzly bear attack that occurred while he was berry picking near Teton Pass in Choteau.

“He hit me like a Volkswagen with fur,” Boyd told the court. Boyd said he triggered the bear attack after blaring an air horn when it got too close. He claims he spent the next three weeks pulling himself out of the woods with a dislocated shoulder and memory loss. During the process, Boyd also claimed he stepped on a hornets’ nest, which he said he was allergic to, and still managed to find his way to his father’s home in Eureka.

Boyd said he never sought professional medical treatment for his alleged injuries.

In 2012, Boyd pleaded guilty to partner family member assault and possession of dangerous drugs. He received a sentence of eight years with the Montana Department of Corrections with five years suspended and a six-month sentence to Flathead County Jail with all six months suspended.

Following the new charges, Boyd was sentenced two years with the Montana Department of Corrections and will be recommended for screening in an intensive supervision program that would allow him to remain in the community during his sentence.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.