Montana public records are governed by the Montana Public Records Act. Access court filings, arrest records, and jail rosters from counties across Big Sky Country.
Former longtime Montana Probation and Parole officer Kyle Curtis Hinzman charged in Flathead County District Court with solicitation to commit distribution of dangerous drugs and official misconduct, plus later sexual abuse of children and tampering with a witness or informant. Affidavit states he directed former probationer Jane Doe to supply fentanyl to probationer Michael Odom in a September 2024 reverse sting to entrap him, describing Doe as his confidential informant; state does not typically permit probation officers to use confidential informants. (Flathead Beacon, Jun/Oct 2026)
Court records and a 1985 LA Times report describe James Dean Cochrum, an Orange County Jail inmate who informed on at least five fellow inmates, including Adolpho Aguirre and Elliott Beal, claiming to overhear confessions in separate murder cases. Jail informants testified in more than 100 major Orange County cases over five years.