Pair plead innocent to crime spree

By NICHOLAS LEDDEN/Daily Inter Lake

Two Kalispell men have pleaded innocent in connection with a rash of petty burglaries and thefts stretching back to November 2007.

Timothy Christopher Beck, 20, is charged with eight counts of burglary and four counts of theft. David William Rodriguez, 19, is charged with three counts of burglary and one count of felony theft.

Beck is in the Flathead County Detention Center in lieu of $40,000 bail while Rodriguez is free on house arrest.

Both men pleaded not guilty to all charges Thursday during their arraignments in Flathead County District Court.

According to court documents:

. On Nov. 11, 2007, Beck broke into a vehicle on Grandview Drive in Kalispell and stole a rifle, some shells and a knife. Rodriguez, who was with Beck at the time, stole a laptop computer from a vehicle on Juniper Bend Drive.

. On Dec. 19, 2007, Beck and another man, 20-year-old Curtis Lee Bowers, broke into the Community Thrift Store on Fifth Avenue West and made off with about $90 in cash. Beck told investigators he was trying to furnish his trailer.

. On Dec. 29, 2007, Beck broke into four coffee kiosks - located near Woodland Park, in the 3700 block of U.S. 2, West Reserve Drive, and on Montana 206 - and stole a CD player and a total of $225.

. In December 2007, Rodriguez and two other men broke into the Eastside Brick building in the 700 block of Fifth Avenue East in Kalispell and made off with snowboards and computer equipment.

. On Jan. 18, 2008, Beck cleaned out a Bear Trail trailer owned by a mobile home dealership. Missing were a couch, bed, four tables, chairs, and other items.

. On March 14, 2008, Beck, Rodriguez, and another man used a large rock to smash through the glass door of the Best Bet Casino on U.S. 93 South. Investigators believe alcohol was stolen.

. On March 28, 2008, Beck, Rodriguez and another man again used a large rock to break through the door of the Best Bet Casino on U.S. 93 South. Between five and 10 bottles of liquor were stolen. Although the men wore bandannas over their faces to thwart the casino's security cameras, investigators were able to recover foot and hand prints from the scene.

Kalispell police detectives connected Rodriguez and the third man to the break-in after receiving a tip that Beck was hiding bottles of stolen liquor in a Kalispell shed. In interviews with police, Rodriguez admitted to the burglaries and implicated Beck and the third man.

. On April 27, 2008, Beck stole a 1998 Ford F-250 pickup truck on Bowdish Road near Whitefish. The truck, minus the stereo and some personal items, was later recovered at Woodland Park. That same night, four vehicles on KM Ranch Road near Whitefish were rifled through and two bicycles stolen. The bicycles later were recovered in a nearby ditch.

Also implicated in the rash of petty thefts and burglaries are 18-year-old Cody Alan Dow and 19-year-old Joshua Charles Kelly.

Dow is facing three counts of burglary for his alleged participation in the Best Bet burglaries and the break-in to Eastside Brick. Kelly also is facing one count of burglary for allegedly participating in that break-in.

Neither Dow nor Kelly has been arraigned.

Rodriguez and Dow were arrested on suspicion of the Best Bet burglaries in early October. Beck already had been in custody since late July when he and 19-year-old Evan Thomas Barbouletos and 26-year-old Robert William Evans were arrested for allegedly stealing a pickup truck in Kalispell and then trashing it while mudbogging in a field off KM Ranch Road.

At the time of that arrest, Beck was awaiting sentencing on a prior conviction for burglarizing a Whitefish convenience store in December 2007.

In that crime, Beck, Bowers, and another man used a tire iron to smash through the door of the Midway Mini Mart on U.S. 93 in Whitefish. They made off with $1,800 worth of cigarettes, beer and lottery tickets.

Beck previously was convicted of criminal mischief in September 2007 for vandalizing a car. In exchange for Beck's guilty plea, prosecutors lowered the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor and recommended Beck serve a six-month suspended sentence. He also was ordered to pay more than $1,900 in restitution.

A conviction for burglary carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine; a conviction for felony theft carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

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