Law roundup: Truck thief gives mixed messages

A wishy-washy woman allegedly took a man’s truck in Kalispell and left the following note: “give me a call when you get a phone and I’ll bring your truck back. On second though[t], I won’t. Bye.” The truck owner asked if a Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputy could call the woman and inform her the owner wanted his truck back.

Law enforcement gave a renter the unsurprising advice that she should move out after she said her landlord was harassing her.

An 85-pound Bullmastiff mix apparently broke its collar and ran away in Columbia Falls.

A deer got entangled in someone’s backyard fence. Dispatchers contacted multiple outside entities for help removing the animal, but it was apparently uncertain when any assistance would be able to get to the scene.

A power box on a light in North Kalispell reportedly exploded and the pole holding the box caught on fire. According to a witness, “this blew up pretty good.” Fortunately, the fire didn’t spread beyond the pole, and eventually the flames died down.

Another fire broke out in a garage on Lost Creek Drive in Kalispell. There was concern about “lots of chemicals” in the garage, but crews were able to knock down the fire.

A representative of the Flathead County Road Department reported a vehicle that hadn’t moved for months was getting in the way of snowplows. The vehicle had snow “piling up around it” but the owner promised she would attempt to move it out of the way.

Someone saw a man with a flashlight behind a business and told the Sheriff’s Office he seemed to be trying to break in. The caller watched as the alleged intruder dug around in washers, dryers and refrigerators. However, officers got in touch with the owner of the business, who informed them the flashlight-wielding man was supposed to be there to work on a vehicle.

Someone apparently jumped to conclusions when they saw someone drive away from a bar. They told the Sheriff’s Office the suspect driver “is not supposed to be drinking and driving” because he had already received five DUIs. The caller admitted they hadn’t actually seen the driver consume alcohol before driving away, but said, “what else would he be doing in the bar?” It turned out the complaint was unfounded.