Man pleads not guilty to robbery charge

The Daily Inter Lake

A Kalispell man has pleaded innocent to threatening another man with a beating and then forcing him into the Flathead River.

Brandon Christopher Sands, 18, entered a not guilty plea to one count of accountability to robbery, a felony, during his arraignment Thursday in Flathead County District Court for his role in the November 2008 incident.

According to court documents, Sands, 45-year-old Mark Irvine and two other men brought the alleged victim to the Presentine Bar area of the Flathead River and then robbed him of $30, reportedly as part of a dispute over unpaid rent.

Sands and Irvine pulled out aluminum baseball bats and threatened to beat the man unless he jumped into the river, prosecutors allege.

If convicted, Sands faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. His trial is scheduled for the June jury term.

Irvine, who has yet to be arraigned, has been charged with robbery and assault with a weapon in connection with the incident.

Irvine threatened to sue the Kalispell Police Department after an officer shot his pit bull in July 2008. Irvine alleged the shooting was unprovoked.

Officers said the dog was charging.