Target of Kalispell manhunt faces multiple felony charges in district court
A Kalispell Police Department vehicle is seen in this file photo. (Daily Inter Lake FILE)
The man at the heart of an overnight police search in Kalispell last week now faces felony burglary and aggravated burglary charges in Flathead County District Court.
Kyle Kenneth Smith, 32, who is in custody with bail set at $300,000, is accused of knocking on the door of a Sixth Avenue East North home on Oct. 17 and pepper spraying the woman answering the door. Prosecutors say that Smith then forced his way into the house, where he was shot by one of several people inside.
Smith fled the scene after suffering the gunshot wound, court documents said, and multiple people in the area called local law enforcement to report seeing a man bleeding from the waist down. Officers responded to the neighborhood about 8:06 p.m., according to court documents.
The Kalispell Police Department, with assistance from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office as well as a Two Bear Air helicopter, K9 team and drones, was unable to locate Smith that night.
About 9:20 a.m. the next morning, though, officers responded to a trespassing call at a house on Eighth Avenue East North. The caller reported finding a man sleeping on the couch of her parent’s vacation rental, which was vacant at the time. She told the man to leave and he departed in a black GMC Yukon, court documents said.
The woman told police that she had found blood on the couch. The shower and Jacuzzi, which was found filled with bloody water, appeared to have been used recently as well, court documents said.
Officers located the Yukon parked near the intersection of East Washington Street and Second Avenue East North. One individual, later identified as Smith, exited the vehicle, court documents said. Smith, complaining of a gunshot wound, allegedly admitted to breaking into the vacation rental, taking a shower and using the Jacuzzi.
Smith is expected in Flathead County District Court for his arraignment before Judge Amy Eddy on Oct. 27.
If convicted, Smith faces up to 20 years in Montana State Prison for the burglary charge and up to 40 for aggravated burglary. Both carry maximum fines of $50,000.