A Rexford man serving a suspended sentence in Flathead County earned five days behind bars for lying under oath during an Oct. 13 court hearing on alleged probation violations.

Flathead County District Court Judge Robert Allison held Nathaniel Joe Peoples, 32, in contempt after he first testified that he was aware of two firearms found in his home before later claiming he did not know about the weapons. Peoples was serving a suspended five-year sentence for felony threats or improper influence in official or political matters, meaning he was prohibited from possessing firearms.

“I want the truth,” Allison thundered after Peoples struggled to explain whether he did or did not know about the Springfield 9 mm Hellcat pistol authorities recovered from a truck on his property or the Mossberg 6.5 Creedmoor rifle found under his bed during an April 29 visit.

Defense attorney Todd Glazier unsuccessfully argued that the situation was complex and that Peoples struggled with the judge’s question because he knew about one gun, but not the other.

Prosecutors initially brought Peoples up on the threats or improper influence charge as well as misdemeanor driving under the influence and resisting arrest charges after pulling over an erratically-driven truck on U.S. 93 in 2021. According to court documents, Peoples struggled with Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies during the subsequent traffic stop and threatened them.

He ultimately struck a deal in May of that year, agreeing to plead guilty to the felony in exchange for seeing the two misdemeanor charges dropped a recommendation for a deferred three-year sentence from prosecutors.

By the time Peoples entered the courtroom with his attorney, Todd Glazier, on Oct. 13, that sentence had gone from deferred to five years suspended owing to a violation later in 2021. On April 1, 2022, Peoples received a reprimand for failing to get a chemical dependency assessment completed, according to court documents. It was during an April 29 home check that probation and parole officers found the firearms, according to a report filed in district court.

Glazier and deputy County Attorney Alison Howard offered a joint recommendation following Peoples’ admission of the probation violation: recommitment to the state Department of Corrections for a suspended, five-year sentence with credit for one day of time served and five months of street time.

“I’m just trying to do better, your honor,” Peoples told Allison. “I’ve been dry now over a year.”

Allison, though, expressed reservations.

“Several things are concerning to me,” he said after a sigh and long pause. “You were before us one before for a probation violation. … How many probation violations do you think you should get?”

Although Allison ultimately went along with the recommended sentence, he tacked on five days of jail, to begin immediately.

“Then you come into court and shave things … or should I say lie in court under oath. Do you know what that’s called?” Allison asked.

When Peoples could not come up with an answer, Allison replied: “contempt.”

Peoples was handed over to detention center personnel following the hearing.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].