BILLINGS — A man accused of making harassing telephone calls to a Black woman who works at a Billings church and helped him admitted to charges Thursday, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Joshua Leon Hiestand, 41, a transient, pleaded guilty to harassing telephone calls, a felony. Hiestand faces a maximum of two years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release.
On Nov. 12, 2020, Hiestand, who is white, went to a church in Billings and asked for help, according to prosecutors. A Black woman who worked at the church, who was not identified by the U.S. Attorney's Office, gave him a gift card.
Several days later, the church received a voicemail from an unknown caller who said he would give more money to the church if it didn't employ a Black person, according to prosecutors. The caller used a derogatory term in the message.
A month later, the church's caller ID identified Hiestand as calling and using the same number as the previous voicemail, according to prosecutors. The Black worker answered the phone, and the caller again said he would give more money to the church if it didn't employ a Black person.
Hiestand left two more voicemails with similar insults, with the last coming in January 2021. After that last message, the Black employee contacted Billings police.
An officer called the number, and the person who answered identified himself as Hiestand, but later changed his name during the conversation, according to prosecutors.
He later admitted to the officer that he left the voicemails and apologized. The officer told him to have no more contact with the church.
Hiestand left one more voicemail where he sounded upset and apologized, according to prosecutors. But over the next 19 months, he left a series of voicemails that were threatening and racially hostile, prosecutors said.
Investigators determined he placed the calls from outside the state.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Oct. 26. Hiestand was detained pending further proceedings.
