Happy Valley robbery accomplice sentenced for not registering

A frequent felony offender is possibly headed back to federal prison to serve the rest of his sentence for a 2011 armed robbery in Happy Valley. 

Kevin Kenneth Gaethle, 34, was given a two-year suspended sentence on Thursday in Flathead District Court for felony failure to register as a violent offender. Prosecutor Ed Corrigan said the probationary sentence would allow Gaethle to be taken into federal custody and handled in that system without wasting further state resources.

Gaethle was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center in April, four days after a U.S. marshal issued an alert asking for help locating him. Gaethle had been released from federal prison on July 24, 2015, and was told he must notify authorities within three days if he changed his address. He did not do so.

On March 16, a sheriff’s deputy found that Gaethle was wanted by federal authorities for probation violations. The deputy interviewed Gaethle’s father, who said Gaethle had not lived at the home since the end of January.

Gaethle is serving a three-year probationary sentence following a 51-month prison sentence for his role in an armed robbery in Happy Valley in 2011.

He allegedly told two others involved in the robbery where one of his victims had guns stored in a home.

His accomplices — Bradley Thompson of Kalispell and Steven Acton of Libby — entered the home and held a 16-year-old girl at gunpoint and made her take them to the gun safe.

After stealing guns and marijuana, they left with Gaethle as the getaway car driver. The criminals told investigators they intended to sell the guns to buy drugs.

Gaethle has a lengthy criminal history that includes three felony convictions in Flathead County from 2005 to 2008, including two counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and one count of criminal possession with intent to distribute.

Felony bail-jumping charges were dropped against Gaethle as part of plea agreements in which he was given suspended sentences for the drug-related crimes. The suspended sentences were revoked after Gaethle possessed ammunition and pepper spray, lied to a law enforcement officer, failed to remain law-abiding and admitted multiple times to using drugs.

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