Man accused of stealing $45,000 cash

The Daily Inter Lake

A man accused of stealing $45,000 in cash from the Marion home of his girlfriend's family has been arrested in Powell County.

Jonathan Michael Parham, 39, was returned to Flathead County on Wednesday and is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center in lieu of $60,000 bail.

He is charged with one count of felony theft.

According to court documents, Parham stole approximately $45,000 from an unlocked box in the Marion home of his girlfriend's aunt and uncle sometime in mid- to late August 2008.

The alleged victims, who reportedly had sold a parcel of land for $120,000 and kept the cash proceeds in their house, notified authorities of the theft after Parham went on a 'spending spree," prosecutors allege.

A family member later told investigators he had seen Parham "with his hand in the box."

The alleged victims' niece, who was dating Parham at the time, was staying in a camper on her aunt and uncle's property.

Parham, who left suddenly for Great Falls after being confronted with the theft, reportedly failed to return the money at a designated time and place on two separate occasions.

According to court records, Parham was on probation when the theft in Marion allegedly occurred. He was sentenced in 2001 to 10 years to the Montana Department of Corrections with six years suspended after being convicted of felony forgery and writing bad checks. He also was convicted in 1994 of burglary in Lewis and Clark County.

If convicted of the Marion theft, Parham could be sentenced for an additional 10 years in prison and fined $50,000. He has yet to be arraigned.