Two charges filed after chase
Law enforcement officials still are investigating the Whitefish man arrested after a high-speed chase through Kalispell on Friday, although the County Attorney’s Office has already filed two charges against him.
Abram Schilling, 26, could face up to 11 years in prison based on a felony charge of criminal endangerment and a misdemeanor count of eluding a peace officer filed Tuesday in District Court.
Sheriff Chuck Curry said searches have been conducted on Schilling’s Chevrolet pickup truck as well as his house.
“They did recover drugs but not from the house or vehicle,” Curry said Tuesday, adding that the drugs were found along the approximately nine-mile route Schilling drove during the chase.
He said the case is still under investigation and the Sheriff’s Office might recommend more charges.
Schilling was arrested near Lawrence Park after speeding away from a traffic stop as a deputy approached his vehicle along U.S. 93 north of Somers at about 8:30 p.m.
According to charging documents, Schilling drove between 100 and 120 miles per hour toward Kalispell during the initial minutes of the pursuit.
He was traveling at about 90 miles per hour as he approached the city limits at Murdoch’s Ranch and Homes Supply and slowed to 40 miles per hour as he drove through the heart of Kalispell, according to court documents.
“Schilling nearly collided with several vehicles as he drove through the intersection of Main Street and Idaho,” Deputy County Attorney Travis Ahner wrote. “Trooper James Hawkins of the Montana Highway Patrol was position at the intersection and had to employ an evasive maneuver in order to get out of the way of Schilling’s vehicle.”
Schilling, who drove through red traffic lights during the chase, lost control of the truck while passing Buffalo Hill Golf Course, swerving through yards and into a ditch after spike strips deflated the front two tires of the vehicle.
Deputies used a Taser to stop Schilling after he attempted to run from the scene, according to court documents.
The pursuit involved officers with the Montana Highway Patrol, the Kalispell Police Department and the Northwest Drug Task Force, which is led by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.
Curry said the initial traffic stop was made in connection with an ongoing investigation.
Schilling is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center with bail set at $150,000. He was on probation at the time of his arrest after receiving a six-year suspended sentence for felony criminal endangerment in Lewis and Clark District Court in 2010.