Man who robbed undercover cop in 2015 back in jail

A Northwest Montana man who tried to rob an undercover federal agent in a fake drug buy five years ago is back in custody after a series of alleged misdeeds.

Jacob Orion Sauls, 23, of Eureka, was sentenced to 12 years, seven suspended, in August 2015 after he pleaded guilty to felony robbery.

Earlier in 2015, Sauls had arranged to buy methamphetamine from an undercover agent with the Northwest Drug Task Force. But Sauls threatened the officer with a handgun and took the money. He and another man left the scene and entered a vehicle driven by a third man. After a traffic stop, the money and the gun were found in Sauls’ possession.

Sauls first went to a Department of Corrections facility in Missoula before he was moved to the Montana State Prison in November 2015 for inappropriate actions, according to a court document filed by a probation officer.

The report of violation document detailed Sauls’ time in confinement and his ongoing issues. While at the state prison, Sauls applied for and was denied for early release due to “risk for future criminal activity” and “risk to reoffend.”

In June 2016, Sauls was placed in segregation due to three assaults he allegedly committed in six months. In February 2017, he was denied a move to a boot camp because of an “unacceptable level of risk to the safety of other offenders or center staff.”

In December 2018, Sauls was paroled and avoided the attention of law officers until September 2019 when he was returned to the Yellowstone County Detention Center and scheduled for transfer to the state prison after an alleged partner/family member assault.

Then, on Jan. 6, 2020, Sauls was placed on probation after his state prison sentence expired.

But Sauls was accused of assaulting another man at an apartment in Eureka on March 29. Court documents indicated an arrest warrant was issued on April 3, but Sauls claimed he had flu-like symptoms.

Because of COVID-19 issues and the fact the Lincoln County Detention Center couldn’t isolate inmates for a quarantine period, Sauls was told by law officers to remain at his residence unless he needed medical attention.

Then on May 4, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper arrested another person who was being sheltered at the Sauls residence. Sauls’ probation officer asked the trooper to tell Sauls to turn himself in to authorities.

Sauls was later arrested by Flathead County authorities on the felony warrant Oct. 8 and booked into the county detention center on $100,000 bail.

He appeared in court Thursday for a revocation hearing on the 2015 robbery charge.

Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.