POLSON — Sunny White pleaded not guilty to all five charges in relation to the death of Mika Westwolf on Wednesday morning.
The 22-year-old was walking home along Highway 93 near White Coyote Road when White allegedly struck Westwolf with her vehicle.
White was charged with five felonies — vehicular homicide while under the influence, accidents involving another person or deceased person, two counts of criminal child endangerment, and a count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
White is accused of hitting Westwolf, an Indigenous woman, while her children were in the car, driving under the influence of drugs, and leaving the scene.
Mika Westwolf's parent, Kevin Howard shared that he saw the not guilty plea coming. “Definitely it was expected," Howard said.
However, as the case pushes on with a jury trial set for May 6, 2024, the end goal is still the same: “We want justice for Mika,” stated a relative of Westwolf, Vivian Charlo-Plante.
Howard believes that the trial date may not come. He told MTN, “I feel that they’re going to move to a quick plea bargain.”
Yet, Howard his partner — and Mika’s mother Carissa Heavy Runner — along with the Mika Matters movement want their day in court.
He explained that there will continue to be action seeking justice for Mika.
“We’re gonna be here to pressure them to do the right thing," Howard said while referencing having the trial.
The movement will also press for change in the greater justice system.
“I hope that, if nothing else, this trial exposes some of those injustices and we can work towards making it a better fairer system," Howard stated.
Additionally, Howard detailed that on the Flathead Indian Reservation, “You can throw a stick and you’re gonna hit a family member of someone in this county that has experienced the injustices [of MMIP].”
This is why the Mika Matters movement will stay committed to helping others impacted by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People epidemic. “It doesn’t matter what tribe you’re from, we’re all related. We stand together when things like this happen,” Charlo-Plante told MTN News.
White's next court appearance is scheduled for January 24, 2024. Her trial is set for May 6, 2024.
If convicted of the vehicular homicide charge, White faces up to 30 years at the Montana Women's Prison.
