Felon receives five-year sentence
Jesse Davis | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 9 months AGO
A Kalispell man has been sentenced to jail, probation, and thousands of dollars of restitution for a pair of felonies.
Christopher Hogard, 30, previously pleaded guilty to felony counts of burglary and theft.
The burglary charge was filed after Hogard broke into and temporarily lived in a boarded-up house on U.S. 2 East. He was caught when the owner returned in July 2013 and found the home unsecured and a barricade placed across the driveway.
The theft charge was because Hogard had several tools that had been stolen from Glacier Stone Supply.
Approximately $43,000 worth of tools including welders, air compressors, cordless power tools, chain saws, and hand tools had been stolen along with a Ford F-450 service truck, which was later found emptied and abandoned in the parking lot of the Evergreen Boys and Girls Club.
Hogard also was charged with two felony counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and felony operation of an unlawful clandestine laboratory, but those charges were dismissed.
During an April 17 hearing, District Judge Robert Allison sentenced Hogard to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections followed by a further five years suspended and ordered him to pay more than $9,511 in restitution, nearly $20,000 to the Corrections Department in Helena and a $400 public defender fee.
ARTICLES BY JESSE DAVIS
Wild ride results in two charges
KALISPELL — A Polson man who allegedly crashed his car into several objects and nearly another vehicle before hitting a road sign has pleaded not guilty to a pair of charges.
Officer placed on leave
Faces new investigation
POLSON — A Polson police officer is on administrative leave and facing both an internal and criminal investigation after a weekend incident at Swanee’s Bar & Grill.
Lake County investigations in legislative spotlight
HELENA — Allegations of corruption and cover-ups within the Lake County Sheriff’s Office have caught the attention of Montana attorney general hopeful Jim Shockley, who is using his clout in the state Legislature to bring light to what is and isn’t being done to investigate.