Felony stalking charges filed against former Butte man
A former Butte man, Martin Joseph Ferriter, 56, of Henderson, Nevada was charged Monday in Judge Ben Pezdark’s justice court to a felony count of stalking, along with a misdemeanor stalking offense.
In addition, Ferriter was charged with five counts of privacy in communication, three of which are felony counts because they are repeat offenses.
All of the above offenses allegedly occurred in Butte-Silver Bow County, according to court documents.
On the privacy in communication charges, documents say that on two separate occasions, Ferriter reportedly, via electronic communication, threatened to inflict injury or physical harm to individuals and property, and made repeated use of obscene, lewd or profane language, or repeated lewd or lascivious suggestions.
The threats were made against a woman on or about Oct. 7 and against a man on or about Oct. 17.
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On the three felony privacy in communication counts, on or between Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, Ferriter reportedly threatened to harm a man and a woman. On separate occasions during that time frame, an additional two women were threatened, along with another man and woman.
The maximum penalty for felony privacy in communication is a prison sentence not to exceed five years and/or a $10,000 fine.
The misdemeanor stalking charge states that from August 2020 to Oct. 7, 2022, at various times and locations in Butte, Ferriter allegedly engaged in a course of conduct directed at a woman, putting her in fear for her own safety and the safety of her family, including her husband and children, and to suffer other substantial emotional distress.
From Oct. 14 to Oct. 20, he reportedly repeated this offense at various times and locations in Butte and was charged with felony stalking.
The maximum penalty for felony stalking is a prison sentence not to exceed five years and/or a $10,000 fine. Also, a person found guilty of stalking may be sentenced to pay all medical, counseling, and other costs occurred by or on behalf of the victim.
Bond for Ferriter has been set at $250,000.
Air raid sirens sounded on a South Korean island and residents evacuated to underground shelters after North Korea fired more than 20 missiles Wednesday, at least one of them in its direction and landing near the rivals tense sea border. South Korea quickly responded by launching its own missiles in the same border area.The launches came hours after North Korea threatened to use nuclear weapons to get the U.S. and South Korea to pay the most horrible price in history in protest of ongoing South Korean-U.S. military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. The White House maintained that the United States has no hostile intent toward North Korea and vowed to work with allies to curb North Koreas nuclear ambitions.The Norths barrage of missile tests also came as world attention was focused on South Korea following a weekend Halloween tragedy that saw more than 150 people killed in a crowd surge in Seoul in what was the countrys largest disaster in years.SEE MORE: Poll: Majority In U.S. See Relations With Adversaries SouringSouth Koreas military said North Korea launched at least 23 missiles 17 in the morning and six in the afternoon off its eastern and western coasts on Wednesday. It said the weapons were all short-range ballistic missiles or suspected surface-to-air missiles. Also Wednesday, North Korea fired about 100 artillery shells into an eastern maritime buffer zone the Koreas created in 2018 to reduce tensions, according to South Koreas military.The 23 missiles launched is a record number of daily missile tests by North Korea, some experts say.One of the ballistic missiles was flying toward South Koreas Ulleung island before it eventually landed 104 miles northwest of the island. South Koreas military issued an air raid alert on the island, according to the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff. South Korean media published photos of island residents moving to underground shelters.Hours later, South Koreas military said it lifted the air raid alert on the island. South Koreas transport ministry said it has closed some air routes above the countrys eastern waters until Thursday morning in the wake of the North Korean launches.That missile landed 16 miles away from the rivals sea border. It landed in international waters off the east coast of South Korea. South Koreas military said it was the first time a North Korean missile has landed so close to the sea border since the countries division in 1948.This is very unprecedented and we will never tolerate it, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.SEE MORE: North Korea Says It Will Never Give Up Nukes To Counter U.S.Later Wednesday, South Korean fighter jets launched three air-to-surface, precision-guided missiles near the eastern sea border to show its determination to get tough on North Korean provocations. South Koreas military said the missiles landed in international waters at the same distance of 16 miles north of the sea border as the North Korean missile fell earlier Wednesday.It said it maintains a readiness to win an overwhelming victory against North Korea in potential clashes.North Korea firing missiles in a way that sets off air raid sirens appears intended to threaten South Koreans to pressure their government to change policy, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. North Koreas expanding military capabilities and tests are worrisome, but offering concessions about alliance cooperation or nuclear recognition would make matters worse.The Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier identified three of the North Korean weapons launched as short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Norths eastern coastal town of Wonsan, including the one that landed near the sea border.North Korean short-range weapons are designed to strike key facilities in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there.In an emergency meeting with top security officials, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered officials to take swift unspecified steps to make North Korea face consequences for its provocation. He said he would consider the North Korean missiles landing near the border a virtual violation of (our) territorial waters.During the meeting, officials also lamented that the North Korean missile launches came as South Korea is in a mourning period over the crowd crush. They noted this clearly showed the nature of the North Korean government, according to South Koreas presidential office.Earlier Wednesday, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said at least two ballistic missiles fired by North Korea showed a possibly irregular trajectory. This suggests the missiles were the Norths highly maneuverable, nuclear-capable KN-23 missile, which was modeled on Russias Iskander missile.Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called North Koreas continuing missile tests absolutely impermissible.Animosities on the Korean Peninsula have been running high in recent months, with North Korea testing a string of nuclear-capable missiles and
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