Man sentenced to four years for theft, bad checks

A Kalispell man who admitted his involvement in a pair of alleged theft sprees and to writing $700 in bad checks has been sentenced in Flathead District Court to four years with the Montana Department of Corrections.

Travis Eilers, 32, stole or was involved in the theft of nine purses, four wallets, hundreds of dollars in cash, three checkbooks, a debit card, credit cards, gift cards, collectible coins, jewelry, a cellphone, a GPS unit, two iPods, a duffel bag of personal belongings, a camera, stamps, keys, and Sunday school materials.

The items were stolen from vehicles in Columbia Falls and Kalispell in November 2012 and March  2013.

He wrote the bad checks, returned as “account closed” or “not sufficient funds,” out of his own account to businesses in Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls.

In sentencing Eilers during the Sept. 12 hearing, Flathead District Judge Heidi Ulbricht recommended that he be placed in the Treasure State Correctional Training Center, a boot camp-like environment based on military discipline and treatment including programs on victimology, criminal thinking errors, anger management, substance abuse treatment and academic schooling.

Eilers also was sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to pay $875 in restitution to the Department of Corrections in Helena, a $1,000 fine and a $400 public defender fee.