Teen caught after allegedly slipping monitoring bracelets

Authorities have arrested a Bigfork teen who allegedly cut off his alcohol and location monitoring bracelets and broke conditions of house arrest.

Harland Robert Jordan, 19, was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center on Sunday, after deputies learned Jordan had been staying at an Evergreen residence.

“He was taken into custody without incident,” Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said.

Jordan had been on court-ordered restrictions until his April sentencing date for a handful of thefts and burglaries.

The Sunday arrest came more than a week after the monitoring bracelets were found in a family member’s mailbox.

The reported violation occurred just hours after Flathead District Judge Heidi Ulbricht warned Jordan that any bad behavior could impact her decision on whether or not to follow a plea agreement where prosecutors and defense attorneys had bundled a handful of offenses that occurred the past year.

It was recommended that Jordan face a 15-year commitment with the Montana Department of Corrections, with 12 years of that sentence suspended.

The sentencing will encompass a criminal endangerment conviction from July 2015 in which a previous deferred sentence was given.

In that incident, Jordan led police on a drunken high-speed chase that ended when spike strips were deployed.

The recommended sentence also encompasses theft and burglary convictions after Jordan broke in and stole items from an Egan Slough home and Kalispell auto business, took a four-wheeler from Three Mile Drive and was involved in a bad check-writing scheme.

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