Would-be deputy accused of forgery
By CHERY SABOL
The Daily Inter Lake
A man who was arrested before he could become a Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputy was arrested again Thursday in court, this time accused of counterfeiting.
Richard Rossmiller, 38, was arrested on a warrant from Great Falls Police Department on a forgery charge. According to the warrant, Rossmiller printed fake currency in denominations of $5, $10, $20, and $100 and passed them at businesses in Great Falls.
The warrant carries a bond amount of $100,000. The penalty for the felony count is as many as 20 years in prison.
Rossmiller had been a deputy from Chouteau County. He moved to Kalispell to begin work as an officer in June 2005.
Instead, he was arrested by SWAT officers when the local department got a tip that Rossmiller stole property in Chouteau County when he was a deputy.
Since then, his troubles mounted, with six criminal convictions.
He was sentenced here to a 10-year suspended term for felony criminal mischief and six months each on charges of theft and partner assault. He served six months in jail. A woman Rossmiller had dated accused him of stalking her, burglarizing her home, and damaging her car. Among the terms of his probation was an order to stay out of Flathead County.
In Chouteau County, he received an eight-year suspended sentence for felony theft, misdemeanor theft and official misconduct.
Deputy County Attorney Tim Wenz accused Rossmiller of violating terms of his suspended sentence in Flathead County by returning here at least once without permission.
Rossmiller allegedly showed up at Woodland Park this spring when a deputy was spending time there with his family. Rossmiller reportedly wouldn't speak when the deputy greeted him and then followed the officer and his family.
Rossmiller reportedly was unaware Thursday of the arrest warrant for him in Great Falls.
He appeared in court with his attorney, Sean Hinchey, reportedly to admit the probation violation.
Instead, District Judge Stewart Stadler postponed that hearing until Nov. 16.
He revoked the $50,000 bond that Rossmiller had posted. Court security officers handcuffed Rossmiller and took him to jail, awaiting a trip to Great Falls to face those charges.