A Flathead County District Court judge has ordered a man accused of threatening employees of a local shelter to the Montana State Hospital for an evaluation.

Judge Robert Allison directed staff at the state hospital to examine Ilya Paul Khmelev, 26, on Jan. 26 with an eye toward determining his mental condition. The order came at the behest of Khmelev’s defense attorney, Liam Gallagher, and went unopposed by prosecutors.

Khmelev faces a felony assault with a weapon charge following his Jan. 7 arrest by Kalispell Police officers. According to court documents, shelter workers took him off the property following a disturbance that day. Khmelev allegedly responded by wielding a metal pole 3 feet in length.

A staff member later told investigators that Khmelev swung the pole at him from the far side of a locked gate, according to court documents.

Khmelev remained uncooperative after the arrival of officers and tried to pick the piece of metal back up, court documents said. Following a struggle, Khmelev ended up in the rear of a patrol vehicle and taken to the county jail, according to court documents.

Khmelev stayed mute during his Jan. 25 arraignment before Allison, prompting the judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. At the time, Gallagher said he could not explain Khmelev’s silence, but indicated jail officials had expressed concern about the 26-year-old.

Gallagher told the court he planned to seek an expedited mental health evaluation. He filed that request the following day, according to district court records.

As part of Allison’s order, Khmelev will remain in Warm Springs for up to 60 days, though the court can extend his stay in the hospital. It directs facility employees to prepare a report on his mental condition and pay specific attention as to how it relates to his ability to understand the court proceedings.

At Gallagher’s request, the order also asked them to examine his mental state as it relates to the alleged crime.

If convicted, Khmelev faces up to 20 years in state prison and a fine of $50,000.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].