Columbia Falls man accused of threatening baby

A Columbia Falls man with a lengthy criminal history is charged with threatening an 8-month-old baby during a recent incident.

Tyler John Treat, 31, is facing one felony count of intimidation after a Nov. 24 incident near Columbia Falls. The maximum term he may serve is 10 years in the Montana State Prison.

Treat’s arraignment on the charge is set for 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, in Flathead County District Court. He was released on $30,000 bond from the county detention center Nov. 27 after his arrest the previous day.

Charging documents indicate a woman called 911 and said she had kicked Treat, her ex-boyfriend, out of the house earlier in the day. She said Treat took her baby daughter with him and he later sent text messages to her that he would leave the child in a gravel pit. She also said she received a photo of the baby in a car seat with a blanket at a gravel pit. She said she wasn’t able to get to the child and was very concerned for the baby’s safety.

The woman then showed a deputy with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office text messages she said Treat allegedly sent her. According to the deputy, some of the messages said “Better hurry it’s cold outside” and “Her blanket ain’t very warm.”

The woman said Treat was most likely at the gravel pit near the Bad Rock Fire Station or at a nearby business in Columbia Falls. When the deputy went to the area, he found Treat and the baby inside a nearby residence.

According to the officer, Treat allegedly admitted to texting the woman.

Also, court records indicate Treat was charged with aggravated burglary after a 2014 incident in Columbia Falls.

The charging document indicated Treat had struck his girlfriend and her mother at their home. Both suffered injuries during the assault.

Treat and the Flathead County Attorney’s Office agreed to a deal where his prosecution would be deferred for three years and then dismissed if he remained law abiding.

Treat also faced criminal charges in Gallatin County more than a decade ago, including for burglary, robbery and rape.

In 2010, Treat, according to a story in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, pleaded guilty to robbery and burglary in connection to a hotel hold-up and home theft, both in 2008.

His plea deal in those cases resulted in a dismissal of a rape charge from 2009 when he allegedly sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl at a drinking party when he was 17 years old.

A trial in the rape case resulted in a hung jury.

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