Arrest made in Fatt Boys burglary case

A Kalispell man was arrested Thursday for allegedly burglarizing Fatt Boys bar earlier this month. His troubles also include allegations he operated a meth lab, illegally crossed the Canadian border, and was involved in a felony theft of 580 gallons of gas in Whitefish.

Andrew Johnson, 26, is accused of stealing a safe containing about $35,000 from the bar, according to court documents filed Friday.

Johnson was charged in September with felony theft for allegedly stealing tires. He was out on bond, reduced from $30,000 to $3,000, when he allegedly entered Fatt Boys through the roof hatch, pried open the office door, and removed the safe on Nov. 7.

"He and a co-conspirator pried open the safe with pry tools and a torch," said Kalispell Police Chief Frank Garner.

The safe was found in the Flathead River near the House of Mystery two days later.

Meanwhile, Whitefish Police Department was conducting its own investigation with Johnson as a suspect in the theft of gasoline from Stacey Oil Co. in Whitefish several weeks ago.

And the Northwest Drug Task Force was working on evidence that Johnson was operating a methamphetamine laboratory near Kila, where the drug team executed a search warrant Wednesday.

On. Nov. 9, Canadian authorities notified Kalispell Police that Johnson had been arrested for illegally entering the country. They stopped his vehicle because blood was found inside it, possibly because Johnson injured himself opening the safe, Garner said. Court documents filed by Deputy County Attorney Lori Adams say that when Johnson was arrested, he had $5,000, some methamphetamine, and a $2,300 check made out to the owner of Fatt Boys. The check had been in the safe at the time of the burglary.

On Nov. 11, police executed a search warrant on Johnson's storage shed on Rose Crossing in Evergreen. There were tools police believe were used to open the safe and gasoline and containers believed to have been stolen in Whitefish.

Johnson was returned to Flathead County from Canada on Thursday night.

Garner said authorities are "also investigating a report that Johnson crossed the Canadian border on a number of prior occasions for the purpose of purchasing ephedrine for manufacturing methamphetamine."

New state law has sharply restricted the availability of ephedrine, commonly found in cold medicine, in Montana. It is a key ingredient in making methamphetamine and is more easily bought in Canada, Garner said.

He said federal authorities "could be" involved in the investigation.

There is a warrant out for the arrest of another man suspected of participating in the burglary, Garner said, and more charges are expected to follow.

Earlier this week, a warrant was issued for a man believed to have stolen a safe in a burglary of Ole's Country Store in Kalispell.

That safe was also recovered near the Flathead River.

The thefts are unrelated, Garner said, but he's struck by the coincidence of the two and his officers' ability to find suspects in the crimes.

"I really am proud of their work," he said.

Garner himself was involved in investigating the Fatt Boys' burglary.