Fortine men arrested in burglaries

Two suspects are in custody on burglary charges, while the Flathead County Sheriff's Office continues investigating a rash of 10 break-ins reported in five days at homes scattered across the valley.

David Curtis Holt, 32, and Danny Curtis Marquis, 47, both of Fortine, were arrested Monday afternoon.

They are being held in the Flathead County jail, awaiting their initial court appearances as of the end of the day Tuesday. Each is charged with two counts of felony burglary.

Sheriff Mike Meehan said "many thousands of dollars" in property was taken from homes, most of which were entered in the daytime while residents temporarily were out of their houses. One person, he said, was gone for only an hour.

Each of the houses was entered by force, Meehan said.

Stolen items included a wide variety - jewelry, arrowheads, pennies, five guitars, many guns, a laptop computer, a compound bow, camera and lenses, PlayStation, Xbox, Harley Davidson playing cards and more.

Nine break-ins were reported Monday, and one with similar circumstances was reported Thursday.

Monday's reports came in from Evergreen, Bigfork, Somers, Whitefish, Coram, KM Ranch Road and Kalispell.

Sheriff's detective Sgt. Pat Walsh is investigating connections among the burglaries.

The break-in Thursday and the nine Monday generally follow the same entry method, Walsh said. Also, several people reported seeing the same vehicle at some of the homes.

Holt and Marquis were tracked down Monday when the fifth burglary of the day was reported to 911 emergency dispatchers.

Meehan said a resident on Blanchard Lake Road returned home and saw a strange vehicle at a neighbor's house, then called in a description and the direction it was going. Deputies were nearby and went to the Blanchard Lake Road address. The vehicle was gone, Meehan said, so deputies followed in the direction it went, toward the Happy Valley area.

Near the bottom of a hill on one back road, a deputy spotted a truck pulled off to the side. The occupants hopped back in the vehicle and took off, with deputies in pursuit.

Officials caught up with the brown 1985 Toyota 4Runner with Missoula County plates. Meehan said they stopped it near the junction of U.S. 93 and Stelle Lane, a short distance south of the Blanchard Lake Road junction. Holt and Marquis were inside.

Meehan said the men had thrown some of the stolen goods out of the vehicle into the ditch, including a vacuum cleaner, baseball hats, a cordless drill, a backpack and more.

Walsh said two Montana Highway Patrol officers helped the five sheriff's deputies with the pursuit and capture.

Meehan said more charges may be pending.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com