Accidental arsonist repeatedly violates parole

Nearly 12 years after he accidentally set fire to an apartment complex on West Reserve Drive where several people lived, a former Flathead Valley man is back in custody after repeatedly violating his parole.

According to court documents, David Lawrence Bernach, 57, pleaded guilty to negligent arson in July 2009. A plea deal called for a 10-year sentence with six years suspended to the Montana Department of Corrections.

Bernach was accused of using gasoline to ignite wood in his fireplace on Nov. 21 after several previous attempts to get the fire started with other methods failed. Some of the gas spilled out of the fireplace and spread flames into the apartment. The blaze destroyed 10 units in the building.

Bernach was the only resident injured. He suffered minor burns to his face and hands while trying to smother the fire with a comforter.

A court document filed earlier this year detailed Bernach’s history of alleged alcohol abuse and domestic assaults, which, in part, landed him back in the Flathead County Detention Center Sept. 1, 2020.

In a period from May 2014 to April 2020, Bernach had at least four blood alcohol tests, part of his probation conditions, register at 0.203 or higher. There four other positive tests for alcohol consumption, which were all probation violations. In that span of nearly six years, he also allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol four times and tested positive on two other occasions.

Since 2010, Bernach has been held in detention centers in Missoula, Billings, Kalispell, Thompson Falls, Warm Springs, Helena, Townsend, and the Montana State Prison.

His probation officer, Terry Boyd, based in Billings described Bernach’s adjustment to supervision as “terrible.”

Before his transfer to Flathead County, Bernach was jailed in Yellowstone County on May 22, 2020, after being charged with partner or family member assault for the second time.

Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or shindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.