Man guilty in burglary incident

A 43-year-old Kalispell man pleaded guilty by way of Alford during Flathead District Court proceedings Nov. 15 to a felony charge of accountability to burglary.

Shannon Powell originally was charged with misdemeanor obstructing justice as well as the felony charge. With his plea to the felony charge, the obstructing justice charge was dismissed.

According to court documents, the resident of the burglarized Haywire Gulch home reported to dispatchers that when he came home, he found a girl and two men leaving with a backpack full of his tools.

The resident tried to stop one of the men, struggling with him, but was unable to restrain him.

Officers found three sets of shoeprints in the snow leading away from the home as well as a bag full of power tools outside the back door.

A short distance from the house, officers stopped a vehicle matching a description provided by the homeowner.

Inside the vehicle were four people: Powell, Timothy Lee and two juveniles. Powell initially provided a false name and birth date, but officers were able to determine his true identity.

Lee allegedly admitted going to the home to burglarize it as well as admitting he was the one who got in the physical struggle with the home-owner.  

The documents also state that the shoes of Lee and the youths matched the shoeprints leading to and from the home.

Marijuana, paraphernalia, unknown pills and several backpacks containing what appeared to be burglary tools were found inside the vehicle.

Powell faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 when he is sentenced Dec. 20.