Three charged in pickup theft

Three men were charged Tuesday in connection with the theft and destruction of a 2008 Toyota Tundra truck.

Timothy Beck, 20, of Kalispell, was charged with motor vehicle theft and felony criminal mischief. Evan Barbouletos, 19, of Kalispell, and Ian Alexander, 26, of Bremerton, Wash., were charged with felony accountability vehicle theft and felony criminal mischief.

A 17-year-old girl apprehended with the men has not been charged.

According to Kalispell Police Officer Sean McRae, the incident began with a call to the Flathead County Sheriff's Office by a citizen reporting a suspicious incident involving four youths and a freshly damaged red pickup on KM Ranch Road.

McRae said the citizen stopped to check on the youths' welfare and was told they had been "mud-bogging." He recognized the driver, whom he suspected did not own the new vehicle. The citizen wrote down the license plate number and called the sheriff's office just before 11 a.m.

Kalispell police had received a report of the vehicle theft from a residence inside the city limits at 9:25 a.m. Tuesday. The owner had left the vehicle parked with the keys in the ignition.

Apparently, the owner purchased the vehicle two weeks ago. He had just registered it on Monday.

McRae said the person who reported the suspicious incident stayed to block the escape route after he learned that the vehicle was stolen. When the four tried to leave in their own vehicle, he refused to let them pass, informing them that law enforcement was on the way.

McRae described the vehicle as "completely and utterly destroyed." He estimated the original value of the truck as more than $30,000.

Damage included a ripped-off passenger side door, the hood buckled in two, a bashed-in windshield, the front bumper hanging off, leather seats slashed and speakers ripped out. It appeared the truck may have been rolled, but the suspects did not appear injured.

According to Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset, the department is investigating a possible connection between the men charged and a couple of vehicles stolen recently from the old Tidyman's parking lot.

McRae also is investigating a possible link with a pistol reported stolen Tuesday from the same area in the city as the pickup.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.