A man who turned himself in four and a half years after robbing a pair of Kalispell casinos has pleaded not guilty to two counts of felony robbery.

Willis Thomason, 39, entered the pleas Thursday in Flathead District Court.

According to a court document, the first of the two Sept. 15, 2008, robberies took place at Windigger’s Casino on U.S. 2.

A casino employee reported she was approached by a man dressed in all black who pointed a handgun at her and ordered her to turn around before sticking the gun in her back and asking “Where’s the (expletive) money?”

The employee then filled a bank bag with money from two cash drawers before being ordered into a bathroom. The man told her he would kill her if she came out, and fled once she was inside.

The second robbery took place at the Loose Change casino. A pair of customers and an employee there reported a man dressed in black entered the casino, grabbed the employee by her collar and stuck a gun in her back.

He then walked her backward to the till, ordering her to put money from the till into an apron. A customer tried to approach the man, who then put the gun against the woman’s temple and said he would put a bullet in her head. The man then ordered everyone upstairs before fleeing.

Thomason was named as a suspect in both robberies after some investigation. 

The court document states that Thomason allegedly contacted the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office on April 8 of this year, stating that he wanted to talk about the 2008 robberies. During an interview the next day, he allegedly confessed to both robberies and gave details that matched witness accounts.

If convicted of both charges, Thomason faces between two and 80 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

Thomason also faces the possible revocation of a sentence encompassing four prior cases.

In 1995, Thomason was given a 20-year suspended sentence after being convicted of rape. In March 1997, he pleaded guilty to felony burglary and had the suspended sentence revoked. 

Just one month later, he pleaded guilty to burglary in another case. That netted him a combined sentence of 30 years in prison and 20 years suspended.

He was eventually released early, only to plead guilty in 2009 to felony failure to register as a sex offender as well as admitting to violating his probation by changing his residence without approval, failing to remain law abiding, failing to maintain employment, and entering a bar and consuming alcohol.

As a result, Thomason was sentenced to four years in prison and 31 years of probation.

Thomason is currently incarcerated in the Flathead County Detention Center, where his bond is set at $175,000. 

His next hearing is set for Aug. 28.