Alert issued for violent offender

A man charged with a fourth count of felony failure to register as a violent offender is being sought by law enforcement.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office issued an alert Friday morning that it is on the lookout for David Clarke Howke, 43.

Howke was charged in Flathead District Court on Thursday after the Montana Department of Justice Criminal Investigation Division contacted the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office to see if Howke had registered as a violent offender.

Howke was convicted of felony partner/family member assault in 2001 and required to register his address with local law enforcement.

His last known address was in Polson, but authorities believed Howke might have been living in Flathead County.

Deputies and Whitefish Police officers were able to verify that Howke had been living in Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls since 2011.

In an Oct. 26, 2015, telephone interview, Howke allegedly admitted not registering. A deputy instructed Howke how to register, but he had not followed through as of the first week in January.

Prosecutors claim in court documents that Howke was charged with failure to register in 2005, 2006, and 2011 and was convicted in the latter two instances.

Howke has a $25,000 warrant out for his arrest in the failure to register case and a $10,000 warrant out for his arrest on a theft charge out of Lewis and Clark County.

Anyone with information about Howke’s whereabouts is asked to call Flathead Crimestoppers at 752-TIPS. People with information leads to an arrest might be eligible for a reward.

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