NewsCrime and Courts

Actions

Jury again finds man guilty of 2015 murder in Billings Heights

Posted at 4:53 PM, Apr 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-12 18:53:33-04
Joseph Richard Polak II.

— Story by Zoe Zandora – MTN News

BILLINGS – After five hours’ deliberation in a new trial, a jury found a Billings man guilty Friday of a 2015 murder in a dispute over a woman.

Joseph Richard Polak II, 36, was originally convicted for shooting and killing 29-year-old Scott Hofferber in a Billings Heights trailer court in the fall of 2015.

The Montana Supreme Court ordered a new trial, ruling District Court Judge Mary Jane Knisely improperly excluded evidence indicating a key witness may have been on drugs during the crime.

Polak is serving an 80-year sentence for killing Hofferber in what was described as a dispute over a woman, Andrea Sattler.

This second trial began Monday before Judge Rod Souza.

Sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 25.

This is a developing story.