Two jailed after bungled heist attempt

A couple is in jail after what was apparently a spectacularly botched armed robbery Monday night.

Johna Criner, 33, and Richard Avila, 30, both of Kalispell, face felony charges.

According to Flathead County Sheriff Jim Dupont, Avila walked into Evergreen Gas & Deli on U.S. 2 at about 8:15 p.m. Monday.

He put a single can of beer on the counter and the clerk told him the price.

"He goes, 'No, empty your till,'" Dupont said.

The clerk told the man to get lost.

Then Avila pulled a gun out of his waistband and pulled back the slide, Dupont said.

The gun jammed.

An amused customer in the store told Avila, "If you're going to rob a store, you might get a gun that works," Dupont said.

Avila reportedly hustled out of the store and got into a 1980 black BMW two-door car. Inside were a blonde woman in the driver's seat and two children in the back seat, witnesses told police.

A bulletin was issued to officers, describing the vehicle and passengers.

Deputies responding to the robbery call also heard about a car crash a few blocks away.

They found a black BMW that had hit a tree on Sleepy Hollow Drive. A woman was driving and two children were in the back seat, but she insisted there was no one with them.

A highway patrol trooper showed up and investigators checked to make sure the children, ages 5 and 7 or so, were unhurt, Dupont said.

One of the children told officers what they suspected.

"Rich was with us, but he jumped out and ran that way," the child said.

Soon, a man walked up to the crash and told officers he had to talk to the woman. About that time, a witness from the store drove up and said, "Hey, deputy, that's him!"

Avila was arrested for armed robbery and endangering the welfare of the two children. Criner was charged with accountability to armed robbery and endangering.

Avila is wanted on a warrant from San Francisco for forgery, Dupont said.

A 9-millimeter high-powered gun was found Tuesday morning at a home near where the car crashed. The weapon was still jammed.

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