Burglary suspect rejects plea deal, will go to trial
A Kalispell man accused of breaking into six businesses has chosen to forgo a plea agreement and move on to trial.
Shane Connor Christensen, 19, faces six counts of felony burglary and one count of felony deceptive practices. The burglary charges correspond to six Bigfork businesses that were broken into in February 2014.
He also faces a felony count of criminal endangerment related to a car crash in July 2014.
Christensen reached a plea agreement with the Flathead County Attorney’s office last month. He would enter guilty pleas to accountability of deceptive practices in one case and criminal endangerment in the other. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss all six burglary counts and recommended a five-year deferred sentence.
He was set to change his pleas during a hearing on Thursday. Instead, Christensen elected to keep his pleas and move on to trial on all counts.
According to court documents, the six businesses reported burglaries on Feb. 19, 2014. They were Bigfork United Rentals, The Senior Center, Albiero Chiropractic, Waterstreet Company, Clayton’s Dentist Office and Nelson Electric.
United Rentals reported that a credit card had been stolen. Detectives tracked the card and obtained surveillance footage of people using it. The card was used for up to $9,000 in charges.
Through tips from the public, authorities identified Christensen and another man, Severin Gislason, as the suspects using the card.
Gislason received two five-year deferred sentences on burglary and deceptive practices charges. He had pleaded guilty and was sentenced in November.
Christensen initially was charged with deceptive practices. In August, the prosecutor added six counts of burglary.
During that summer, Christensen was arrested for criminal endangerment after he allegedly lost control of a vehicle traveling at least 120 mph. The crash caused severe injuries to a female passenger.
Christensen’s plea agreement handled the burglary and vehicle crash cases with no additional jail time. He opted to reject the agreement and move on with a trial on all counts.
A jury trial is scheduled shortly after Aug. 10. The vehicle crash case could be considered in separate hearings.