Man arrested after skipping out on sentencing for car chase

A man landed back jail recently with bail set at $100,000 after he failed to show up to a Nov. 12 sentencing for leading Flathead Sheriff’s deputies on a chase after being caught trying to steal a vending machine on July 26.

In September, Allen Richard Rodriguez pleaded guilty under a plea agreement to one count of felony criminal endangerment, one count of theft and one count of criminal mischief.

A second count of felony theft, one count of misdemeanor criminal mischief, and one count of misdemeanor resisting arrest were dismissed.

Rodriguez failed to show up in court and a warrant was issued.

Prosecutors say in court documents that a Flathead sheriff’s deputy observed Rodriguez parked in a pickup truck three feet in front of a vending machine at a business off Fourth Avenue East in Kalispell at 3 a.m. July 26. The officer pulled into the parking lot, and the vehicle revved up and sped off.

The deputy followed and Rodriguez refused to pull over and led officers on a chase through residential Kalispell neighborhoods at speeds in excess of 60 mph, running through intersections, hitting parking signs and crashing through the bushes of Flathead High School.

Rodriguez eventually crashed the truck into another parked vehicle. He was told to put his hand up by officers as he emerged from the crash, but instead ran. He had to be subdued with a Taser.

Deputies found out that the truck Rodriguez had been driving was stolen. They also found a grinder in the truck and wondered what it was for. The deputies went back to the vending machine and found that it had been damaged by Rodriguez. The machine was a total loss.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.