Day 6 of trial in killing of Crites ends with defendant's wife testifying

Debbie Ford testifies June 8, 2023, in the trial in Helena in which her husband, Leon, stands accused in the death of Mike Crites.

Day six of the trial in the 12-year-old killing of John Michael "Mike" Crites continued Thursday with testimony about other possible suspects, drive test times and Debbie Ford, Leon Ford's wife, taking the stand.

Leon Ford has been charged with deliberate homicide and felony tampering with evidence in the 2011 killing of Crites. Many of the neighbors on Turk Road, including Ford and Crites, disputed for years over road access in the area.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Cpl. Andrew Blythe was assigned to the killing of Crites in 2016.

During his investigation, Blythe discovered that according to Platt Electric records, Chugach purchased HellermannTyton 32-inch cable ties, and Chugach records show that Ford removed 24 of these cable ties in February 2011. These were the type of cable ties found with Crites’ remains. Blythe noted that only one cable tie was found fully intact and not clipped with the remains.

Blythe obtained a list of Crites’ firearms that were documented in the early 2000s during a Fish and Game investigation and compared it to a list of firearms from Connie Crites, Crites’ sister, that she recovered from his residence after he went missing. Blythe discovered one firearm was missing, a 44 Magnum Super Blackhawk revolver.

"Based on information that we had received and past law enforcement experience with Mr. Crites, we knew him to carry a 44 Magnum," Blythe said.

Blythe also had Crites’ computer analyzed, but no evidence was found there. A cassette tape and microphone was found at Crites’ residence on a trailer with the play and record button pushed down, but nothing was on the tape.

Blythe touched on the other suspects in the investigation, one being neighbor John Mehan.

Mehan was arrested in July 6, 2012, and charged with felony tampering with evidence after being accused of trespassing on a neighbor's property, the Floras, and removing their game cameras that were being used in the Crites investigation at the time. He pleaded no contest to the charge in October 2013.

During a phone call while incarcerated, Blythe noted that Mehan asked about a firearm, specifically a 44. Blythe obtained a search warrant for Mehan's property because they were looking for Crites’ missing 44, Crites’ clothing and Crites’ cellphone.

Gloria Flora told Blythe in an interview in 2016 that she recalled seeing a big burn pile on Mehan's property in 2012.

"She thought it was odd that someone was burning in July up in a very timbered area in Montana just given the fire danger," Blythe said.

The burn pile was searched, and they found a warning label, a possible metal button and a possible piece of a bullet.

"I don't believe that there's evidence supporting that Mr. Mehan should be charged," Blythe said.

A deposition tape from May 15, 2023, was played to the court of Scott Howard, who was the sheriff in Powell County when the second site of Crites’ remains was discovered on Sept. 25, 2012, on the Powell County side of MacDonald Pass. He's retired since but Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton asked him to come back onto the case.

Howard conducted two drive tests in May 2021 from the 12 points of interest in the case.

The first drive test started at Bob's Valley Market in the Helena Valley, to Lincoln RV Park, to the Silver City Saloon, to Dennis Shaw's residence on Turk Road, to the Mehan's residence on Turk Road, to the game camera on Turk Road and to Crites’ residence from the game camera. The drive took 26 minutes and 18 seconds total. He didn't go up to the residences, only their driveways.

The second drive test was from the Turk Road game camera to Three Mile Road, to Birdseye Road/Williamson Street, to the light on U.S. Highway 12, to recovery site one on the Lewis and Clark County side of MacDonald Pass, to recovery site two on the Powell County side of MacDonald Pass and back to the light on U.S. Highway 12. Howard added 15 minutes for each recovery site. This all took 1 hour, 21 minutes and 52 seconds.

The defense questioned alternative routes someone could’ve taken from Turk Road to the recovery sites near MacDonald Pass such as Austin Mullan Pass Road.

"Would you agree with me that if you took that route, it might be road-less-traveled and easier to go undetected if you took that back road?" defense attorney Juli Pierce asked.

Howard agreed.

Another deposition tape from July 22, 2022, was played to the court of Turk Road neighbor Dennis Shaw, who is friends with Ford. Shaw has lived on Turk Road since 1991. He stated that Crites wasn't the easiest neighbor to get along with, although he didn't have direct issues with the man.

He first met Crites when Crites came to his house to ask to borrow his phone, which he didn't have a problem with. However, when Crites came to borrow their phone in the middle of the night and Shaw's wife was the only one home, he wasn't comfortable with that.

"I told him to stay the hell off my property," Shaw said.

In April 2011, Mehan, his wife, Katy Wessel, and Shaw filed a lawsuit against Crites, alleging that they live in fear of the man from incidents of him threatening them and brandishing weapons. Shaw said Mehan was the main architect of the lawsuit.

"Someone was gonna end up getting hurt," said Shaw about the lawsuit. "(Crites) had to be reined in, that's the way we figured."

Shaw said Ford didn't tell him a lot about the road access disputes with Crites, but he had heard some things from multiple neighbors.

"The road -- I know Crites didn't want anyone using his easement right away to his property, you know, Crites could use everybody else's easements to get to his property, but we couldn't use his property to get to anybody else's," said Shaw. "He wanted everything one way. ‘I could come through the middle of your property, but you stay the hell off my property.’"

Shaw stated that Ford did refill the weed sprayer he had rented in late June 2011 at least once at Shaw's residence and he left the weed sprayer at Shaw's overnight on June 27, 2011. The next day, the Shaws hosted a barbecue that the Fords attended, and on June 29, 2011, the Fords left to go back to their home in Oak Harbor, Washington.

Toward the end of the day, Ford's wife, Debbie Ford, took the stand. She detailed the 2007 incident between Crites and them when they were leaving their property. They had reached the gate across the road on Crites’ property, and Ford got out to close it when he noticed Crites nearby.

"I hear Leon say, ‘You might as well come out. I can see you. You might as well come out,’" Debbie said. "About that time, I’m thinking ‘OK, I should probably get out of the car,’ so I go to undo my seatbelt to get out of the car, and Leon gets in the car, and he says, ‘Don't get out of the car. We need to go down to the sheriff's department.’"

Crites reported that Ford pointed a loaded handgun at him, and Ford claimed that Crites already had a rifle in his hand, so he pointed his pistol at the ground in response. After this incident, a District Court judge signed an order allowing Ford access to his property across the lower road on Crites’ property.

The trial will continue at 9 a.m. Friday in Lewis and Clark County 1st Judicial District Court Judge Michael Menahan's courtroom.

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