Kalispell trucker accused of trying to kill Butte man

A Kalispell man behind the wheel of a semi-tractor that allegedly ran a pickup truck off the road and into a utility pole is facing an attempted deliberate homicide charge in Butte.

Ian Gabriel Lenders, 43, of Kalispell, had bonded out of Lake County jail in Polson by Monday morning, Butte-Silver Bow Undersheriff George Skuletich said.

Lenders was arrested on U.S. 93 in Lake County on Saturday about four hours after the incident in Butte.

Lenders and a 39-year-old Butte man were arguing over a woman at a residence on Excelsior Avenue in Butte around 7 a.m. Saturday when Lenders allegedly pulled a gun, according to the victim.

The man got in his 1999 Chevy pickup and fled the scene but Lenders followed him in a semi-tractor cab that did not have the trailer attached, police said.

Witnesses told police the two were heading south on Excelsior and Lenders was trying to ram the pickup from behind. The pickup went off the street and hit a utility pole at Excelsior and Platinum.

The pole was sheared in half and the man in the pickup was taken to St. James Healthcare where he was treated for minor injuries, authorities said.

Lenders then drove onto Interstate 90 heading west.

He was pulled over by a Montana Highway Patrol trooper on U.S. 93 near Polson — about 190 miles northwest of Butte — around 11:45 a.m. Saturday and was booked into jail.

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