Man sentenced for leading chase in BNSF truck

A Kalispell man convicted of stealing a BNSF Railway vehicle last December and leading police on a high-speed chase, as well as stealing a pickup truck in a separate incident last June will serve time in the Montana Department of Corrections.

Tyler Rodney Volkmann, 19, pleaded guilty on Jan. 5 to two counts of felony theft and criminal endangerment as part of a plea agreement in which a third felony count of assault on a peace officer was dropped. He was sentenced Thursday in Flathead District Court to 10 years, with five years suspended.

On the stand, Volkmann admitted to stealing a 2006 Sterling Acterra BNSF maintenance truck from repair shop in Kalispell, which led to a high-speed police pursuit through the Coram area on Dec. 14.

In addition to his sentence, Volkmann will be responsible for paying more than $20,000 in restitution to his victims.

Before he was taken away, Volkmann turned to his victims in the audience and apologized for his actions.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.