Butte woman who 'just wanted to kill him' faces felony charges

A woman told police she had no intentions harming officers when she pulled up to a house in Butte with a gun on Oct. 3, but she was going to shoot a man she believed had sexually assaulted her child.

"He deserves nothing less," Teiah Lou Hall told an officer as police were serving a search warrant on a house they suspected the man was staying at. He was wanted for allegedly having child pornography and sex crimes.

Hall, 34, had a gun in her hand and a child in the car when she got out of her SUV at the scene. Police told her to drop the gun, but she didn't comply until she was ordered a couple of times, prosecutors say.

They say Hall put all four officers at the scene in danger so they charged her with four counts of assault with a weapon, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison. She was also charged with criminal endangerment for putting the child at risk. That has a maximum penalty of 10 years.

Hall pleaded not guilty to all charges last week and remains free with certain release conditions. Her public defender said after the hearing she didn't want to comment on the case at this time.

According to prosecutors, the woman told police she was listening to a police scanner via an app on her cell phone and recognized the address police were at.

Police say she pulled up, got out with a gun, dropped it after being directed a couple of times but refused to get on the ground when ordered. An officer approached her, grabbed her arm and took her to the ground.

Another officer checked out Hall's car and saw a small child lying on the floorboard behind the passenger seat. He was crying and yelling, "Don't shoot me" and was calling for the woman, police say.

The woman believed the man who sexually assaulted her child was at the house and told police, "I just wanted to kill him."

Police arrested a man that day and he has been charged with numerous counts of sexual abuse of children for allegedly having videos/photos showing children engaged in sexual conduct. More charges are possible.

District Court Judge Kurt Krueger accepted Hall's pleas and set the next hearing for Dec. 12.

Mike Smith is a reporter at the Montana Standard with an emphasis on government and politics.

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