A Kalispell man who escaped from Mineral County Jail at the end of September is now facing additional charges after allegedly attempting to escape from the Flathead County Detention Center Thursday night. 

According to Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry, Zachary James Bergman, 27, was caught in the ceiling of the detention center at about 10 p.m. Thursday. Bergman allegedly tried to escape from a maximum security cell by kicking through the ceiling. The security features of the building prevented his escape. 

“He got through one ceiling, but never gained access above the ceiling,” Curry said. 

Bergman was not uncooperative once he was caught, Curry said. 

“He was not combative,” Curry said. “He was removed from the ceiling area without any incident.”

It is anticipated that Bergman will face felony charges for the latest escape. Jail staff plan to increase their watch over Bergman. 

“Obviously he’ll be more closely monitored,” Curry said. “That won’t happen again.” 

Bergman has a long history of running from law enforcement and escaping jail. 

He was arrested Sept. 29 in the parking lot of Super 1 Foods in Kalispell, three days after he escaped the Mineral County Jail.

Authorities found an abandoned vehicle on Sept. 28 in the Leisure Island area that they believed Bergman had stolen in another county. He was taken into custody a day later after authorities took extra steps to make sure he didn’t have a chance to run, as a precaution based on his prior run-ins with law enforcement.

He is being held on a $100,000 arrest warrant for multiple out-of-county felony charges, Curry said.

In 2008 Bergman pleaded guilty to one felony count of criminal endangerment and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence as part of a plea agreement in which charges of felony burglary, two counts of felony theft, two counts of felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor charges of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, attempting to elude a police officer and reckless driving were all dropped.

During a probationary sentence for that crime, Bergman left the state without permission and committed several felony burglaries in Oregon, for which he was sent to prison.

When he was released from that prison sentence he returned to Montana and committed a felony theft in Flathead County on Nov. 14, 2011. That day he led authorities on a high-speed chase from Kalispell to Polson.

Less than two weeks later two elementary schools in Missoula had to be placed on lock down after Bergman ran from authorities on foot. He was found hiding in a shed near one of the schools.

Bergman was then convicted of felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs in October 2015. Flathead District Judge David Ortley gave Bergman a five-year suspended sentence in that case, and he is currently on probation. 

Bergman does not yet have a court date set for his alleged misconduct in Flathead County. 

 Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.