Sentence suspended for four-time offender

A Kalispell man received an eight-year suspended sentence May 30 in Flathead District Court after pleading guilty to a series of charges in three cases.

Coby Johnson, 41, previously pleaded guilty to felony charges of bail jumping, deceptive practices and burglary, as well as a misdemeanor charge of partner or family member assault.

The burglary and assault charges were filed after a fight between Johnson and his ex-wife on Jan. 20, 2010.

Following the assault and while his ex-wife was gone, Johnson returned to her home, broke in through the front door and put all of her underwear and shoes in a garbage bag. He also logged into her computer, accessing her Facebook account and sending messages.

When officers responded, they found Johnson on the computer, drinking a beer.

The deceptive practices charge was filed as a result of Johnson using or attempting to use a woman’s credit card at least 30 times after stealing it from her home on Aug. 24, 2012, while he was spraying for pests. A further felony charge of forgery and a misdemeanor charge of theft were dropped.

The bail jumping charge came after Johnson failed to appear for his trial in his first case.

District Judge Robert Allison conditioned Johnson’s sentence on the timely and complete payment of child support, which was considered his number one financial priority.