Two face charges after wild chase around town

A police chase through Kalispell on Friday reportedly included two men in a fleeing truck switching seats at 40 mph and tossing out stolen electronics and lingerie.

It ended with a half-dozen charges, no injuries and some adrenaline-charged drivers who stayed out of the way.

Sheriff Jim Dupont said the event began at 11 a.m., when Michael Crawford, 28, of Kalispell, stole some items from ShopKo. Waiting for him in the parking lot was Sean Jorgenson, 23, of Evergreen, who may not have known about the thefts, Dupont said.

As Jorgenson drove away, some ShopKo employees gave chase, Dupont said. Crawford allegedly told Jorgenson that "some people are mad at me," and told him to hurry.

As the men drove east of Kalispell at speeds of about 40 mph, Crawford moved into the driver's seat.

A sheriff's deputy took over the chase near Willow Glen Drive. The speeding truck traveled into town on 11th Street East and turned north into Main Street traffic, with other drivers hurrying out of the way.

Dupont said the men jettisoned some of the stolen property, which included a CD player, CDs, a child's snowsuit and lingerie.

The suspects drove down Idaho Street, into Evergreen and north on U.S. 2, and then circled back towards town as more officers joined the chase and more drivers evaded them.

"Speeds were never over 50," Dupont said.

Eleven minutes into the pursuit, Sgt. Art Nelson shut it down, deciding that continuing the chase posed too great a risk to other drivers.

"At one point, they were in the westbound lane, going eastbound," Dupont said of the suspects. "They certainly could have had a crash. Art did a wonderful job of managing" the situation, Dupont said.

Drivers pulled over and stopped as the truck sped up Underpass Hill on Idaho Street, turned on Seventh Avenue East North and stopped at Best Bet casino. Crawford and Jorgenson ran from the truck, followed by officers from the sheriff's office and Kalispell police department.

Crawford vaulted a high fence between the Vacationer motel and the Daily Inter Lake and vanished into the back of the newspaper building, where he swapped his sweatshirt for an employee's coat.

He asked employee Suzi Moore for a cigarette and walked outside with her. A sheriff's deputy arrested him outside the door.

Jorgenson was reportedly arrested at his home on Nicholson Drive.

Crawford is charged with theft, eluding police, driving with a suspended license and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jorgenson is charged with obstructing an officer and violation of probation on a prior drug conviction.

"It turned out pretty good," Nelson said.

"It could have been worse. Drivers handled it superbly," he said.

Some of the discarded merchandise, though, was scooped up by bystanders and wasn't recovered, Dupont said.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com