Claiming a clean and sober life, an Oregon man was sentenced following his conviction for stealing several guns from a Rexford residence last year.

Zachary Carl Porter, 42, of Newburg, Oregon got a 5-year suspended sentence March 3 in Lincoln County District Court from judge Matt Cuffe. Porter was also ordered to pay $5,683 in restitution to the owner of the property.

Porter, who sported a tattoo on the right side of his forehead, apologized for his actions.

“I’m very sorry for the things I did to my landlord. They were drug induced and I’m clean and sober today and I just want to do the right thing.”

Following a plea deal between the county and Porter, he pleaded guilty to felony theft Jan. 3.

According to a narrative by county deputy Bo Pitman, the offense came to light following a disturbance call New Year’s Day 2024 at a residence on Mountain View Road in the West Kootenai.

Pitman said he was driving on Highway 37 when he learned Porter was headed his way in a yellow pickup. The vehicle soon passed the deputy and Pitman soon caught up to the suspect at a pullout at Pinkham Creek. 

Porter said he and his girlfriend, Tasha Crandall, had argued about their finances. The suspect also said he’d spent time in prison and had a gambling problem. Porter said he worked for Bessette Construction and would find somewhere to sleep for the night.

Pitman then traveled to the Mountain View Road residence and spoke to Crandall. She said Porter stole three guns from their landlord’s “man cave” and they were pawned in Columbia Falls. She said Porter’s friend, Brent Plantiko, pawned the guns because Porter didn’t have a Montana ID. She said Brent didn’t know the guns were stolen.

She also said Porter took a snow blower from the residence, but didn’t know what he did with it. Pitman asked Crandall if the home owner, a Canadian citizen, had a property manager. She said he didn’t, but a woman named Amanda Benge did assist the couple in contacting the owner.

Pitman said a record check indicated Plantiko pawned two handguns on Dec. 14, 2023, and a shotgun on Dec. 19, 2023. The following day, Jan. 2, 2024, deputy Pitman called First National Pawn in Columbia Falls and was told that Plantiko took all three guns out of pawn on Dec. 28.

Pitman spoke to Plantiko on Jan. 3. Plantiko told the officer that Porter said the guns, two Ruger .357 revolvers and a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun, belonged to Crandall. He confirmed he took all three guns out of pawn on Dec. 28 and got the money from their boss Marc Bessette Sr. 

Porter than told Plantiko he was going to ask Bessette if he would take the guns in exchange for the money he gave him.

When deputy Pitman spoke to Bessette, he said he knew nothing about it and that he didn’t buy anything from Porter. He also said that Porter came to his house a day after Christmas and said his power was going to be turned off if he didn’t pay $1,300 in electric bills. Bessette said he gave Porter the money and told him he’d take it out of his wages.

Pitman spoke to the home owner who said he wanted the guns reported as stolen. When they spoke about Benge, Pitman reported she evidently conducted an inventory/inspection of the victim’s property. Benge and her husband were planning on driving to the West Kootenai property on Jan. 4 to look around, Pitman reported.

Pitman’s investigation also determined Porter pawned two chainsaws in McMinnville, Oregon and that he had an extensive criminal history in Oregon. He also learned he’d been to the state prison and was on probation. Pitman also reported Porter had multiple assault and stolen vehicle charges with multiple probation violations.

Porter was eventually arrested March 26, 2024, in Yamhill County, Oregon on the Lincoln County arrest warrant.

The property owner also filed a suit Feb. 12 against Crandall to have her evicted from the property. Court filings indicate Crandall never answered the suit and a default judgement was entered against her.