Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci was arrested in Great Falls on Friday the 13th. Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter announced in a press conference Friday morning that Pinocci was booked and held on a $2,500 bond. Randy Pinocci has been charged with two felony counts of tampering with witnesses or informants in connection with a July incident.
On July 5th, an altercation reportedly occurred between Pinocci and one of his property tenants over a security deposit. Pinocci said he asked his tenant to fix a window the tenant admitted he had broken, and the tenant’s brother allegedly pushed Pinocci.
Deputies responded and cited both Pinocci and the tenant for disorderly conduct. The ticket described the violation as “quarreling, challenging to fight, or fighting, namely by getting in (alleged victim’s) face and bumping chests during an argument and yelling,” and stated Pinocci should appear “on or before July 6.”
On July 6, Pinocci requested a 30-day extension request, which the court granted. On August 7, Pinocci submitted another 30-day extension request which was denied by Cascade County Justice of the Peace Eric Bailey. Bailey then issued a warrant on August 9th for Pinocci’s arrest for failure to appear at his court hearing.
Pinocci was arrested at Home Depot in Great Falls on September 6th while trying to buy paint. Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter confirmed Pinocci was booked in the jail at 1:30 pm September 6 and released at 4:18 pm the same day on a $500 cash bond.
According to court records, the neighbor who witnessed the original altercation was mowing her lawn later in July and texted Pinocci to offer to mow the now-vacant adjoining property’s lawn as well.
Slaughter summarized what Pinocci texted the witness: “For us to continue this relationship, you need to recant your testimony with the Sheriff’s Office,” then continues, “none of these facts that you said happened are true,” and “you’re not allowed on my property until this problem is corrected.”
The next month, the neighbor was preparing to move out of her own home. According to court documents, Pinocci came to do a walkthrough and told her that he would not return any of the $5,400 security deposit, citing damages to the property. In a later phone call, the neighbor attempted to strike a deal, offering to let Pinocci keep $1,000 of the deposit. According to the affidavit, Pinocci responded that he would not discuss the matter until she recanted her testimony.
Pinocci faces a witness tampering charge stemming from each of those conversations with the neighbor. Montana state law specifies that felony witness tampering is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. The Montana Constitution says that “no person convicted of a felony shall be eligible to hold office until his final discharge from state supervision.”
Slaughter said this wasn’t a pleasant situation for the community. “When a person of trust is arrested in a matter like this, we try to be as consistent as we can be with treating people the same as much as possible and maintain public trust as best we can,” he said. “Obviously, he’ll have his day in court… these are allegations and he’ll have a right to defend himself in this matter.”
Author: Karen Anderson
Karen is the Editor-in-Chief overseeing all news operations at Foxys Publishing Co. She also loves photography and spending time with her dogs.
