Teen sentenced to prison for robbery

A 19-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in the state prison after pleading guilty to a 2009 crime spree that included a robbery in Columbia Falls and a theft in Evergreen.

Nathan Hunt was arrested in April after he and another man were linked to an Oct. 17, 2009, gunpoint robbery at Super 1 Foods in Hayden, Idaho.

After his arrest in Kalispell, he admitted to entering the Columbia Falls Smith's Foods on Oct. 25, 2009, demanding cash with a gun held at his side and fleeing on foot. He also admitted to stealing $1,900 in merchandise from the Army Navy Store in Evergreen on Dec. 10, 2009.

In a plea agreement reached with the Flathead County Attorney's Office, Hunt pleaded guilty to felony theft and robbery in exchange for the dismissal of additional charges of burglary and criminal mischief.

Flathead County District Judge Stewart Stadler's sentence for Hunt included 10 years for robbery and five years for the theft, though the latter portion of the sentence was suspended.

With his Montana case settled, Hunt now is expected to be transferred to Montana State Prison and then to Kootenai County, Idaho, where he has been charged with robbery.

Stadler's decision Wednesday came after testimony from Hunt's mother and brother.

Ruth Hunt described her son as a caring child who was never in trouble. She said he was home-schooled through seventh grade, but eventually lost interest in schooling.

"It was a shock," she said, to learn in April that he had gone on a crime spree across two states.

"I just know from him. ... that he made a terrible decision, that he is repentant of it and wants to make the wrongs right," she said.

His brother, Albert Hunt, echoed his mother's request that Hunt be sentenced to the Montana Department of Corrections rather than state prison.

Hunt's attorney, Courtney Nolan, requested a 10-year sentence with five years suspended. She said that his accomplice - fellow Kalispell resident Philip Paul-Richard Luedcke - was the one who masterminded the plan to rob the grocery stores. She said Hunt was duped by Luedcke to "carry out the dirty business of this crime."

Luedcke has not been charged in Flathead County District Court. He was arrested in April in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and charged with robbery.

Along with his family, Hunt also asked Stadler for leniency.

"Go easy on my sentence [and] I will not mess up and pretty much I will live a straight and narrow life," he said. "I've learned my lesson."

Stadler said his decision to send Hunt to prison came down to the severity of the crimes. He said he would request that any sentence handed down in Idaho run concurrent with his sentence in Montana.

"Hopefully Idaho will do something similar," Stadler said. "You'll have a couple years to think how silly it is to pull a gun on people and then get on with your life."

As part of the sentence, Hunt also was ordered to repay restitution.

Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.