Columbia Falls man facing multiple felonies back behind bars

A 47-year-old facing multiple felony charges in Flathead County District Court is back behind bars after allegedly leaving the state in violation of the terms of his release in the pending case.

Jesus Gerardo Berumen, charged with criminal endangerment and criminal possession of dangerous drugs, is being held in the county jail with bail set at $50,000. He is expected to appear before Judge Danni Coffman on Oct. 19 for a status hearing.

Columbia Falls Police officers arrested Berumen on April 9 after he allegedly chased his ex-girlfriend through the municipality, at times trying to ram her vehicle or run it into a ditch, court documents said. The victim made it to a friend’s home and ran inside, according to court documents. The friend told police that he went outside, confronted Berumen and told him to leave.

Authorities questioned Berumen after tracking him down. Berumen gave varying accounts of his actions that day, but eventually admitted to following the victim “because he wanted to talk to her,” court documents said.

He denied trying to run her vehicle off the road, according to court documents.

After arresting him, officers searched Berumen and located a “meth pipe” with burn marks on the bottom and containing a white residue, court documents said. They also allegedly found $917 in cash on him and two sandwich bags filled with a substance suspected of being methamphetamine. The contents of the two bags weighed seven grams, court documents said.

Arraigned in April, Berumen pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance. He appeared at a pretrial conference in July via Zoom, according to court documents. At the time, County Attorney Travis Ahner noted an active warrant for Berumen’s arrest — on allegations he violated the terms of his release — and that he had left Montana, another violation of his release.

When Coffman asked after Berumen’s whereabouts, he admitted to appearing from Colorado, court documents said. That prompted Ahner to request the case be put on hold until Berumen returned to custody. Liam Gallagher, Berumen’s defense attorney, asked that the warrant be quashed instead and a hearing held on the petition to revoke release, court documents said.

Coffman ultimately kept the warrant active, vacated the case’s schedule and ordered Berumen to return to Montana and turn himself in to authorities. Berumen returned to the county jail on Oct. 4, according to Flathead County Detention Center records.

Criminal endangerment is punishable by up to 10 years in Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine. Criminal possession of dangerous drugs carries a maximum penalty of five years behind bars and a $5,000 fine.