Violent offender admits to not registering, again

A violent offender admitted on Nov. 22 to not registering with authorities as required by law. 

David Clarke Howke, 43, pleaded guilty to felony failure to register. Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said he did not know whether or not it was a citizen tip that helped land Howke back in jail. He was arrested in January, three days after the U.S. Marshal’s Service issued an alert asking for his whereabouts.

According to court documents, Howke allegedly admitted to investigators in a telephone interview that he had lived at multiple locations in Flathead County since 2011, but had not registered as a violent offender, as required by law because of a 2001 conviction for felony partner/family member assault. He previously has been convicted of failure to register twice, he testified in court.

Howke’s attorney noted that Howke gave an explanation of having extreme anxiety about registering and possible other mental health issues, but that a mental health evaluation found the issues were not enough to give him a legal reason for not registering with authorities.

Sentencing in the case was set for Jan. 26.