A motorist accused of fighting police officers during a traffic stop last year in Columbia Falls received a pair of suspended sentences in August.  

Garrett Christopher Joubert, 27, of Columbia Falls, allegedly began struggling during a May 22, 2025 traffic stop near the intersection of Ninth Street West and South Meadow Boulevard. Throwing an elbow as he was being taken to the ground, Joubert left one officer with broken teeth, court documents said.  

Prosecutors subsequently filed felony assault on a peace officer and misdemeanor driving under the influence, second offense, against Joubert. Although Joubert maintained his innocence at his June 5 arraignment before Judge Danni Coffman in Flathead County District Court, his defense attorney finalized a plea deal with prosecutors at the 27-year-old's Aug. 8 pretrial conference.  

As part of the agreement, prosecutors amended the felony charge to misdemeanor resisting arrest. Joubert pleaded guilty to that and the drunk driving charge the same day.  

Coffman subsequently handed down a six-month suspended jail sentence on the resisting arrest charge and a one-year suspended jail sentence on the drunk driving charge. The two sentences were to run concurrently. He received credit for 79 days of time served and was ordered to pay $1,000 in fines and $632 in restitution. 

Coffman also directed Joubert to undergo anger management counseling and submit to a substance abuse evaluation. 

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