Bail set at $4 million for Texas man arrested by Whitefish Police

The Whitefish Police Department (WPD) arrested a man with active felony arrest warrants from two states during a traffic stop on Wednesday, Jan. 21.  

WPD conducted the traffic stop around the 700 block of Wisconsin Avenue in Whitefish on Jan. 21 at about 11 p.m. An officer observed the suspect vehicle making an illegal left-hand turn, driving in the oncoming lane of travel and further observed that the licenses plate was completely obstructed, according to a WPD media release.  

WPD identified the driver as Mason Lockhart, 33, by a Texas driver’s license.  

Following standard protocols, the officer conducted a driver's license query through the Criminal Justice Information Network (CJIN). The CJIN query informed the officer that the driver had two active out of state felony arrest warrants from California and Texas.  

The California warrant was confirmed as extraditable for “four counts of lewd act with child under 14 years of age” along with multiple aggravating factors requiring a mandatory appearance before the court and bail in the amount of 4 million dollars, according to the WPD media release.  

Texas warrant information had not been obtained by WPD at the time of the media release. 

WPD credits the officers proactive policing efforts by contacting the suspect for the observed traffic offenses and taking the suspect into custody on the out of state felony arrest warrants. 

Lockhart is currently being held at the Flathead County Detention Center.