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 Petroleum County, Montana
Population: 506
Seat: Winnett
Petroleum County's population fell from 493 in 2000
to an estimated 474 in 2006. By 2013 population had risen to 506, according to Census Bureau
estimates. The median household income for the county in 2004
was $23,951.
In April 2007, for only the third time in a decade the sixth
least populated county in America convened a jury.
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Least Populated Rural Counties in Montana
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About 20 spectators crowded into the courtroom at the end
of a one and a half day trial to learn the fate of former
Petroleum County Sheriff John W. Taylor.
Jurors deliberated for an hour and 20 minutes before
finding the 30-year veteran lawman guilty.
In the summer and fall of 2006 Taylor was the only
full-time law enforcement officer in the county's 1,654 square
miles when he took an 18-foot custom trailer from Dennis Carmony's backyard, hid it at an abandoned homestead and then
pretended to investigate its disappearance.
Judge E. Wayne Phillips allowed the former sheriff to
remain free on $25,000 bond pending sentencing. Taylor faces
up to $50,000 in fines and 10 years in prison for the crimes.
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