Officers who found Jaxton Tayte Collins near Helena’s Walking Mall on Aug. 7 say he described his own conduct to them within minutes of a reported assault.
A court affidavit now records what he said, and a Lewis and Clark County judicial officer has entered his pleas.
Collins, 21, told police he had been drinking at a downtown bar, the affidavit states.
After he left, the document says, he shouted at the victim “to go back to his own country because he was angry.”
The affidavit also records a denial. Collins told officers he did not shove the victim.
Those statements sit at the center of a case that reached District Court on Tuesday.
Collins appeared for his arraignment on two counts: one felony count of malicious intimidation or harassment of civil or human rights, and one misdemeanor count of assault.
Standing Master Hannah Roe presided. She entered pleas of not guilty on Collins’ behalf.
His next hearing falls on April 8. Until then, both counts remain pending against him.
A conviction on the felony count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to court records.
Montana law defines the felony in specific terms.
A person commits malicious intimidation or harassment by purposely or knowingly acting to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend someone because of that person’s race, creed, religion, color, national origin, or involvement in civil or human rights activities.
The charging documents lay out how the case began. Helena police went to the Walking Mall at about 7 p.m. on Aug. 7 after a report of an assault.
The man who called it in told officers he had been walking with friends when another man approached one of them.
According to the affidavit, the approaching man wore an orange shirt and a large cross necklace.
The friend he approached is of Indian descent and wears a head covering, the affidavit states.
Police later identified the man in the orange shirt as Collins.
The court documents allege that he shoved the friend with both hands and “told him to go back to his country,” according to the paperwork.
Witnesses also spoke with officers at the scene.
They described the incident as “frightening” and called it an “attack,” according to the court documents.
Additional officers arrived as the investigation developed. They located Collins nearby, where he gave the account of the evening that now appears in the affidavit.
The case file therefore holds three sets of statements: the complainant’s, the witnesses’ and Collins’ own. All three appear in the documents filed with the court.
Collins has not been convicted of either count. The pleas of not guilty stand, and the charges stay allegations until the case resolves in court.
