Law roundup: Something’s rotten in Kalispell

The odor emanating from a neighbor’s home left one Kalispell resident fearing the worst. They told the Kalispell Police Department that it smelled like something died — literally — and wanted the offending aroma investigated.

Responding officers agreed that the neighbor’s home was no bed of roses. The grass in the backyard was about 2 feet high and they, too, caught a whiff of the rancid stench. Unfortunately, they could not determine whether the odor came from the yard or garbage cans in the alley. They did not see anything suspicious, but admitted the grass made scoping out the scene challenging.

Police had a parked vehicle towed after a neighbor reported it as suspicious. The resident could see the vehicle’s occupant from their bedroom window and suspected he was living out of the Subaru Legacy as he had just seen him empty a jar of urine. The resident also had received a text from a friend in Great Falls warning him that the man in the vehicle was dangerous.

Upon arrival, officers determined the man had a suspended license. On top of that, he was flagged for assault charges.

Someone found a wallet and turned it into the police department. Using the driver’s license, officers reunited it with its owner.

A woman who joined her friend in court earlier in the day was surprised to come across the defendant in the case — who skipped the hearing — at work at a local breakfast joint. The woman’s friend was the victim in the case and she watched as the judge issued a bench warrant for the subject. Officers met up with the man, who was still on the job, and strongly recommended he sort out his court proceedings.

Two men accused each other of road rage. One told police he was waved into a parking lot and when he came to a stop the other man pulled out a gun and began yelling at him for driving poorly. The second man said he was waved into a parking lot and the other man came up to his car yelling and trying to get inside. He was deterred by the sight of a holstered pistol, though.

When police returned to the first man they spoke with, he admitted to waving the other motorist over and trying to start a fight. He maintained that he had a gun pulled on him, but didn’t want to file a complaint.

Officers counseled both men about “their behavior.”

A store manager suspected one of the supervisors beneath him was stealing. He asked that officers review security footage. If they caught the other employee in the act, the manager wanted him “hauled out in handcuffs.”

A business owner suspected someone was printing fraudulent checks and cashing them at area stores.

Someone spotted a juvenile not wearing a seatbelt sitting in a restored Mustang headed northbound on U.S. 93.

Someone was concerned with a fawn running around the neighborhood. They thought it was lost and might be confused. Dispatchers assured the caller that occasionally fawns are left alone and encouraged them not to interact with it.

The manager of a substance abuse recovery house asked officers to stop returning intoxicated people to the group home.

A store employee accused two people of taking travel wipes, flip flops and two large cans of alcoholic lemonade from the business. The pair were now sitting on the grass not far away, the employee told police.

Someone shot fireworks at a motorist driving downtown. They told authorities they suspected the pyrotechnics came from a truck parked along the street. Officers found the vehicle unoccupied.

Someone spotted a pair of kids shooting Roman candles at each other near the old railroad tracks.

Several people were reportedly walking around a neighborhood shooting fireworks on the go.