Convicted burglar arrested for forgery

A Flathead Valley man convicted of felony theft in 2019 is back behind bars after he allegedly attempted to cash a stolen check.

Joseph Salo, 26, was arrested Dec. 8 on charges of felony forgery and probation violation. He is being held at the Flathead County Detention Center on $45,000 bail.

According to charging documents, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to Glacier Bank in Kalispell after an employee reported that Salo was in the drive-thru attempting to cash a $5,000 check that belonged to another person.

The bank contacted the owner of the check, who said that some of his checks were recently stolen. The person told deputies he did not know Salo and didn’t write any checks to him.

Salo initially told deputies he did some work for the check owner, but following his arrest changed his story to blame a passenger in the vehicle, documents state.

In 2019, Salo was convicted of felony theft after breaking into the Stanton Creek Lodge in Essex and stealing alcohol and guns. In that case he was given a deferred sentence of three years with probation.