Machete Woman Unfit For Trial, Judge Rules

AUGUST 16--The Montana woman charged with breaking into her ex-boyfriend’s house and forcing him to have sex with her at machete-point has been found unfit for trial and her criminal case is on hold while she receives treatment at a state hospital, according to court records.

Samantha Mears, 19, was arrested in late-June and charged with a pair of felonies in connection with the bizarre incident at her former beau’s Great Falls home. At the time of the alleged June 22 break-in, Mears was free on bail following a prior arrest for strangling her 21-year-old ex.

Mears, seen at right, was evaluated by prosecution and defense doctors who concurred that she was not currently fit for trial. In light of the findings, a Circuit Court judge placed the criminal case in abeyance and ordered Mears committed to the Montana State Hospital “to be rehabilitated in order for Defendant to be fit to proceed with the criminal charges at a point in the future.”

According to court and police records, Mears entered the victim’s residence while he ran an errand. When the man returned home, Mears appeared from behind the victim’s bedroom door and “came up behind him and placed a machete under his throat.” Mears then allegedly told the man to “get on the bed and remove his clothes.”

The victim told police that he complied with Mears “for fear of his safety,” adding that he did not believe he was free to leave. The man said he told himself, “Don’t risk your life. Do what she says.”

Investigators allege that after Mears removed her pants, she climbed atop the victim “and they engaged in intercourse.” The victim told Great Falls police that he had “become aroused by seeing her without any undergarments on.” The man added that, after ejaculating, he “attempted to push Mears off of him to end the intercourse,” but she proceeded to bite his arm and “continued to have sex with him until he was no longer erect.”

Following the encounter, “Mears sat on the bed, still armed with the machete, with her back against the wall,” a criminal complaint notes. It was during this time that the victim took several photos of Mears “with the machete in her hand.” After surreptitiously calling 911, the man backed out of the bedroom and fled his residence.

Mears was charged with aggravated burglary and assault with a weapon, both felonies, and misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief, assault, and unlawful restraint. She was not, however, charged with a sex crime since police believed that the victim “had wanted to engage in intercourse with Mears.” (6 pages)