Ronan man returns to confront arson charges

Suspect also charged with several burglaries

A Ronan man accused of burglary in three Western Montana counties has been returned to the Flathead to face arson charges in connection with a December fire at the Echo Lake Store near Bigfork.

Cote Remi Wheeler, 20, is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center pending his arraignment in District Court.

Wheeler told investigators he broke in through the store's attic and stole a box of candy bars and some cigarettes before emptying a bottle of vehicle gas-line antifreeze on a dresser and lighting it on fire, according to court documents.

When the Bigfork Fire Department responded to the store - in the 100 block of Swan River Road near the intersection with Montana 83 - early on the morning of Dec. 3, the building was already fully in flames.

Wheeler has been charged with burglary and arson, both felonies, in connection with the break-in.

An insurance company estimated the fire did more than $450,000 in damage to the 3,100-square-foot convenience store, which at the time was up for sale and being used as a game-processing facility.

Wheeler also is charged in Flathead County with two additional counts of burglary for break-ins to a business in downtown Bigfork and at a storage facility on Montana 35. Cash and stereo equipment were reported stolen in those heists.

Wheeler, who has also been connected with a long string of burglaries in Lake County, is charged there with breaking into two Arlee businesses and two area homes.

Wheeler and an accomplice were arrested in January after allegedly breaking into the home of a Missoula police officer.

Lake County investigators notified Missoula County authorities that the men's pickup truck was exhibiting a suspicious pattern of behavior - possibly checking out or breaking into homes - in a rural Missoula County neighborhood.

Detectives with the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Polson Police Department had begun monitoring the vehicle with GPS technology after receiving a District Court search warrant authorizing its use.

Missoula County deputies found Wheeler in the truck with two loaded handguns, jewelry and two knives. Similar items had been taken from the Missoula police officer's home after the door had been kicked in, court records show.

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