A Kalispell man who fled the police on a motorcycle during a traffic stop in November later received a five-year sentence.  

Prosecutors brought Cadence Gordon Michael Keys-Hawk, 23, up on felony counts of criminal endangerment and criminal possession of dangerous drugs following his Oct. 24 arrest in Kalispell. Although he maintained his innocence at his Nov. 18 arraignment in Flathead County District Court, Keys-Hawk struck a plea deal the following month.  

In exchange for a guilty plea to criminal endangerment, prosecutors agreed to drop the drug possession charge and recommend he receive a five-year sentence to the state Department of Corrections. As part of the deal, Keys-Hawk admitted violating his probation on a 2023 criminal endangerment conviction. 

Judge Amy Eddy, who presided over the 2025 case, stuck to the recommendations at Keys-Hawk's Dec. 11 sentencing. She gave him credit for 48 days of time served and ordered his five-year stint with the Department of Corrections to run concurrent with the sentence from his 2023 conviction.  

The October chase began after a Kalispell Police officer spotted Keys-Hawk on a motorcycle on the 1100 block of Seventh Avenue West about 1:02 p.m., according to court documents. Knowing there was a probation warrant for Keys-Hawk's arrest, the officer tried to pull him over. 

Keys-Hawk allegedly fled, nearly hitting two other vehicles as he drove off, court documents said. Believing he would return to Seventh Avenue West, officers lay in wait and later arrested him. During a subsequent search, officers allegedly found a plastic bag containing a white crystalline substance suspected of being methamphetamine. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 406-758-4430 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.