Jury returns murder conviction in beating

GREAT FALLS (AP) -- A jury Friday convicted Rodney Dubois of murder in the baseball bat beating of Dion Guckeen last year.

Dubois faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced March 31. His lawyer said he plans to appeal, but declined to elaborate.

Dubois, 21, sat quietly through the reading of the verdict, as he did throughout his 10-day trial before District Judge Julie Macek. The jury deliberated for more than nine hours.

''The community said you're not going to be able to use meth and your extreme need as an excuse to beat somebody to death," said Mary Ann Ries, deputy Cascade County attorney.

Ries attributed the attack to Dubois' anger and frustration at not being able obtain the methamphetamine he had been promised by a friend who was staying with Guckeen at his Black Eagle home.

Judge denies motion to dismiss negligent homicide charge

BILLINGS (AP) -- A district judge Friday denied a request to drop negligent homicide charges against owners of a Laurel day care who are accused of giving a 1-year-old boy a fatal overdose of allergy medicine.

Dr. Janice Ophoven, a child forensic pathologist from St. Paul, Minn., testified the medicine is safe and did not cause the Jan. 31, 2003, death of Dane Heggem.

Ophoven told District Judge Gregory Todd that local physicians botched the autopsy and the cause of the child's death cannot be determined.

Sabine Bieber and Denise Smith, owners of Tiny Tots Daycare, are charged with negligent homicide. Prosecutors said the women gave the Heggem boy diphenhydramine, a cold and allergy medicine commonly known by its brand name Benadryl.

The women pleaded not guilty last July and a trial is scheduled for April. Bieber and Smith are free on $25,000 bond.

Shelby, White Sulphur Springs recipients of federal grants

HELENA (AP) -- The city of Shelby and a hospital in White Sulphur Springs will share $815,000 in federal grants.

In Shelby, $500,000 will be used to upgrade the Port of Northern Montana and for related construction of streets and railroad crossings, Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said in announcing the grants.

Mountain View Medical Center in White Sulphur Springs will use $315,000 for renovations and construction, including a one-story addition.

Low-income residents to get utility bill help

HELENA (AP) -- Montana will get $875,471 in federal money to help low-income residents pay winter heating bills.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is disbursing money to Montana and other states because the price of fuel for home heating has risen, and in many places, January was colder than normal, said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

New building will house Yellowstone Park artifacts

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (AP) -- Park memorabilia and artifacts will be housed in a new $6 million building near Yellowstone's north entrance.

The collection of 5 million items includes photographs, park publications, natural history specimens, ranger uniforms and watercolors by Thomas Moran. Presently the items are divided among five buildings at Mammoth, said Colleen Curry, Yellowstone museum curator.

After the 1988 Yellowstone fires, the U.S. Inspector General cited the park for failing to provide adequate space and protection for its vast archives, park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews said. The 32,000-square-foot building, to be completed in June, will meet federal archival standards, Curry said.

Future construction, costing another $6 million, will include a wing for Yellowstone's 30 historic vehicles.

Billings man pleads guilty in tax case

BILLINGS (AP) -- The president of a construction company here has pleaded guilty in a federal tax case.

Ron Omo of Big O Construction Inc. pleaded Thursday to a charge of giving false information on income tax forms. Both Omo and the company were accused of making false reports. He pleaded guilty for himself and the company.

Maximum penalties are a year in prison and a $10,000 fine for Omo, and a $50,000 fine for the company. In plea negotiations, Omo agreed to pay both maximum fines. Omo also agreed to pay $21,224 in federal income taxes owed by Big O employees as a result of his conduct.

U.S. Magistrate Richard Anderson scheduled sentencing for May 6.

Couple sentenced for running meth lab

BILLINGS (AP) -- Two people described by prosecutors as running the biggest methamphetamine laboratory in Billings have been sentenced to prison.

District Judge Gregory Todd sentenced Jerry Jeffries to 15 years and Gloria Jeffries to 10 years. Authorities raided their home in July. The Jeffries, both 45, pleaded guilty to drug charges in September.

Todd said he did not believe their assertion that they did not sell any of the drugs made over a two-year period in a crawl space beneath their house.

''I heard the argument that this operation was just for your personal use," Todd said. ''I'd hate to see a lab that was intended for manufacture. I hope I never see that. This is bad enough."

Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney Sheila Kolar said the drug lab was equipped to make up to a quarter-pound of meth at a time, or nearly 23,000 doses.

The couple had a surveillance camera that fed video images of the home's front door to a monitor in the kitchen and another under the house. Todd noted the couple had firearms in the house, guard dogs and an electric fence.