Ronan man admits to robbery, carjacking, kidnapping
A Ronan man admitted on Tuesday to violently robbing Deano’s General Store in Missoula on May 27, holding a family hostage at gunpoint in their vehicle and leading authorities on a high-speed chase while in the vehicle with the family.
Thomas Earl Dempsey, 36, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Missoula to one felony count of conspiracy to commit robbery, carjacking, kidnapping and firing a gun in furtherance of a violent crime. Six other felony charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
According to felony prosecutors’ offer of proof, Dempsey and Nick West, 38, of Billings, entered Deano’s General Store on May 27 at around 3 a.m. and held numerous people in the store at gunpoint in order to steal $3,200.
At one point Dempsey told one of the people in the store, “I am going to take this guy into the back room and shoot him.”
A man and his young son were allowed to leave the store, but West and Dempsey entered the family’s vehicle while one member of the five-member family was on the phone calling 911.
The family, including a mother, father, grandmother and two children, were then held at gunpoint and taken on a high-speed chase in the family’s vehicle.
During the chase Dempsey fired two shots, one at a sheriff’s deputy, and threatened the family several times, including threats to kill the family.
The pair eventually ditched the vehicle and were picked up by Dempsey’s wife, Mariah Dempsey, on Sweet Grass Lane near Evaro at 4 a.m.
They were later arrested.
WEST IS set to change his plea in the case later this week. Carissa Kopp, 33, who allegedly drove Dempsey and West to the scene of the crime, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit robbery on Oct. 4. She faces up to 20 years in federal prison, three years probation and a $250,000 fine at sentencing.
Dempsey faces up to 60 years in prison, 16 years of probation and $1 million in fines at sentencing.
As a condition of the plea agreement, prosecutors have asked that Dempsey be granted some leniency in sentencing, though the plea agreement does not spell out exactly how many years prosecutors might recommend.
The plea agreement also states that Dempsey’s wife will not be charged for her role in the crime. A sentencing date was not immediately available.
This is Dempsey’s second high-profile crime.
In 2014, he was convicted of three felony counts in Lake County District Court after he and an accomplice tried to break into Ronan Sports and Western and Depoe Junction on Jan. 21. They then stole a car from Ronan Airport and ran it through the doors of Westland Seed and stole several guns.
Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.