Kalispell man charged in violent robbery

A Kalispell man has been caught and charged for allegedly injuring a woman and stealing her purse during a robbery at a Columbia Falls grocery store.

Justin Eugene Hetrick, 32, is being held in Flathead County Detention Center for felony robbery and assault with a weapon charges. He was arrested Monday on a warrant. Bail has been set at $50,000.

Prosecutors claim in court documents that Hetrick approached a woman from behind as she loaded groceries into her car outside a supermarket in Columbia Falls on March 28, 2014. He attempted to take her purse.

Hetrick allegedly told the woman “I have a knife, do you want to get cut?”

He allegedly cut the purse strap from the woman’s arm, and sliced her hand in the process.

A witness to the crime tried to pursue Hetrick on an all-terrain vehicle as Hetrick fled on foot. The man bailed off the four-wheeler when Hetrick stopped running and lunged at him with the knife. Hetrick started running again and escaped.

Another woman followed the suspect and showed an officer where she believed the man was hiding. Officers followed snow prints to the back of a residence on Second Avenue West, where he was found swearing in a home. He was later identified by surveillance camera and witnesses who picked him from a photo lineup.

Hetrick faces a minimum two-year prison sentence if convicted. The maximum punishment is 40 years in prison and a fine of $50,000.

Reporter Megan Strickland may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.