Browning man gets 3 years for DUI crash

GREAT FALLS (AP) - A Browning man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Monday for driving drunk and causing a July 2004 car crash that killed his two passengers.

Malcolm New Robe, 20, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in June. U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon sentenced him to 33 months in prison, plus three years of supervised release.

Court records said New Robe and the driver of another southbound vehicle were racing side-by-side on the highway when they came up behind another car.

The third vehicle attempted to move into the passing lane to avoid a bump in the road and struck the vehicle that New Robe had been racing. The collision knocked the two vehicles back into the southbound lane.

New Robe then moved into the northbound lane to avoid those cars and struck an oncoming vehicle. The collision killed his passengers, Patrick Bird and Irving Spotted Bear.

Court records said New Robe acknowledged drinking a pint of whiskey before the crash. His blood alcohol level was 0.168 several hours after the crash.

Great Falls man wins $25K lottery prize

HELENA (AP) - A Great Falls man claimed a $25,000 prize on a Sudoku scratch ticket, Montana Lottery officials said Monday.

Scott Cromwell, a builder, said his winning ticket was the first and only Sudoku ticket he's ever bought.

"I usually play Slingo," he said.

Cromwell said he scratched the ticket about a month ago, but put off driving to Helena to claim his winnings until Monday.

"At first I wasn't sure if I'd won anything or not," he said. "Once I did know, I sat on the ticket until today."

Cromwell said he plans to put most of the money in savings.