Man charged in theft of utility payments
Authorities believe they know who broke into bill-paying boxes inside Super 1 Foods in Kalispell in April and October 2015 in Kalispell.
Richard Allen Rodriguez was charged Thursday in Flathead District Court with felony theft for allegedly stealing checks, written to multiple utility businesses, on April 27 and Oct. 14.
Court documents say the checks were reported as missing or fraudulently cashed. Rodriguez admitted to both instances of theft in an interview with police on Nov. 12, court documents claim.
The store theft marks the third time Rodriguez has landed in trouble with law enforcement in the past year.
Rodriguez pleaded not guilty to felony bail jumping on Dec. 10. He was charged after he skipped out on a Nov. 11 sentencing hearing in Flathead District Court.
According to court documents, a Flathead County 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 vehicle sped off when the deputy pulled in.
The deputy followed and Rodriguez refused to pull over. Rodriguez 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 a parked vehicle. Told to put his hands up by officers as he emerged from the crash, he instead ran. He had to be subdued with a Taser.
The truck was found to be stolen and the vehicle contained a grinder. The deputies went back to the vending machine and found that it had been irreparably damaged.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to theft, criminal endangerment and criminal mischief (all felonies) for the vending-machine crime.
A second count of felony theft, one count of misdemeanor criminal mischief and one count of misdemeanor resisting arrest were dismissed in a plea agreement.
Rodriguez is set to be arraigned for the bill-paying theft case on Jan. 21.
Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.