Burglary, robbery add up to 10 years in prison

A Kalispell man convicted of robbing the Bigfork Dairy Queen and burglarizing Domino's Pizza in Kalispell was sentenced Thursday in Flathead County District Court to 10 years in prison.

Pursuant to a plea bargain, prosecutors had recommended Jeremiah Stankiewicz, 26, serve 15 years in prison with 10 suspended and complete a boot camp program.

But District Court Judge Stewart E. Stadler upped the penalty to 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended after noting the large number of burglary charges in Stankiewicz's past.

"Considering your criminal history, I still think that's a relatively lenient sentence," he told Stankiewicz.

In September 2006, Stankiewicz kicked down the Bigfork Dairy Queen's back door after closing time and menaced the co-owner, who was still inside, with a metal bar.

Pamela Roessmann told the court Thursday the experience negatively changed her life.

"I hope you don't ever have to feel the fear you've put into me," said Roessmann, who considered the plea deal too light. "You should not be out in five years. You will continue doing this."

In arguments to have the plea bargain honored, defense attorneys spoke about Stankiewicz's efforts to change his life, take care of his family, and work at a good job.

"He is able to care about people, and I think that's important," defense attorney Carolyn Gill said.

Stankiewicz spoke about re-found values in a statement he read before the court, and he apologized to his victims.

"It's actually something that's kept me up at night," he said.

After threatening Roessmann inside the Bigfork Dairy Queen, Stankiewicz demanded money and left with $1,100 to $1,200 in a deposit bag, according to court documents.

Upon reviewing surveillance tapes from the restaurant, investigators noticed a man hiding behind a rock smoking a cigarette. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and had a lip stud.

Detectives recovered the cigarette butt and sent it to the state crime lab for DNA analysis.

When Stankiewicz was arrested for the Domino's Pizza burglary in May 2007, investigators found that his DNA matched the DNA from the cigarette.

He also wore a black hooded sweatshirt and lip stud during the Domino's crime.

According to court documents, two people sitting in a parked car across the street from Domino's Pizza watched him break through the building's windows with rocks. They called police.

When officers arrived, they found Stankiewicz hiding in the ceiling panels. He reportedly refused to come out and officers were forced to use a Taser jolt to dislodge him.

Stankiewicz pleaded guilty to robbery and burglary in December.

But even before investigators connected him to the Bigfork Dairy Queen robbery or he committed the Domino's Pizza burglary, Stankiewicz pleaded not guilty in November 2006 to the July 2006 burglary of a Dairy Queen in Whitefish.

Prosecutors say Stankiewicz pried open the restaurant's back door and stole $3,600.

He was arrested after police identified him from surveillance tapes trying to reissue a $3.45 check taken during the burglary for $556.83. Investigators also found a different check written to Dairy Queen in an accomplice's possession and matched his footprints with those found at the scene, according to court documents.

However, pursuant to the plea agreement, charges in that burglary were dropped in exchange for his guilty pleas to the Bigfork robbery and Kalispell burglary.

Police have said they believe Stankiewicz may be connected to approximately 20 other burglaries, including nine successful and three attempted burglaries at Whitefish businesses.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com