Man in critical condition after Evergreen stabbing

A 28-year-old man awaiting sentencing in a drug case is accused of stabbing a man in Evergreen Friday evening.

Kyle Wesley Puckett is in the Flathead County Detention Center on preliminary charges of assault with a weapon and aggravated assault.

He is accused of repeatedly stabbing a 27-year-old Kalispell man shortly after 6 p.m. Friday during an altercation outside a South Cedar Drive home.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said it is still unclear how long the man was left lying there, but that it was long enough for him to suffer significant blood loss.

The man was in such dire condition that a sheriff’s deputy had to drive the Evergreen Fire Rescue ambulance to the hospital because ambulance personnel were so busy attending to the victim’s wounds. 

Curry said the victim never regained consciousness and remains in critical condition.

Puckett was apprehended shortly after the incident at a nearby house. There were several witnesses to the stabbing.

Curry said that his office is still pulling video from surrounding businesses. He said he was unsure if the crime itself was caught on video.

Puckett has not been charged yet, but Curry said he expected reports on the crime would be passed along to the Flathead County Attorney’s Office sometime Monday. Formal charges are expected today.

At the time of his arrest, Puckett was awaiting sentencing on a drug charge. He pleaded guilty by way of Alford in November last year to criminal possession of precursors to dangerous drugs.

Puckett initially was charged with felony operation of an unlawful clandestine laboratory, which would have carried a possible penalty of up to 50 years in prison because it was alleged to have been committed within 500 feet of a residence, business, church or school.

That charge came after a April 14, 2013, structure fire.

According to a court document, a deputy spoke with Puckett, who said he was a renter in the home but did not know how the fire started.

A fire team investigating the fire found a tin plate holding a razor blade and white powder separated into lines.

A subsequent search of the home involving the Northwest Drug Task Force turned up meth-lab-related items, including a homemade generator, blister packs for pseudoephedrine and anhydrous ammonia.

During a previous traffic stop, Puckett had a backpack containing a substance commonly used to cut meth to increase the total yield.

The owner of the home later said Puckett had been renting the back bedroom where the lab had been found. The owner said a significant number of people had been visiting Puckett and he observed several transactions between Puckett and the visitors involving money.

Puckett later admitted that he had been passing off the cutting agent and salts as drugs and that he had been bartering drugs with people.

The meth-lab charge was amended to a pair of felony charges — the precursors charge and a charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs. The latter charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement that included a recommended sentence of eight years to the Montana Department of Corrections, all suspended.

The plea agreement included a stipulation that Puckett would be free to argue for a deferred sentence.

Puckett entered the Alford plea, accepting conviction while denying his guilt, on Nov. 7, 2013. He was released from the county jail on his own recognizance pending his Jan. 10 sentencing. That sentencing date later was reset for Feb. 19.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.