Suspects in Kalispell bank robbery plead not guilty
Two men suspected of robbing a Wells Fargo bank in north Kalispell over the summer have pleaded not guilty in Flathead County District Court to felony charges stemming from the heist.
Appearing before Judge Robert Allison on Feb. 16, Logan Christopher Nadasi, 19, of Kalispell was arraigned on a single count of robbery. Caleb Weston Bernhardt, 19, of Kalispell was arraigned earlier that day before Judge Amy Eddy on a charge of accountability to robbery.
Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Nadasi robbed the bank while Bernhardt acted as the getaway driver during the July 26 heist. The two came to authorities’ attention after the Kalispell Police Department turned to the public for help in the investigation.
Using surveillance footage, detectives put out a description of the individual who entered the bank and demanded cash from a teller. They also saw that the suspect left in a dark colored sedan, according to court documents.
One of the subsequent tips identified Nadasi as the man demanding cash, court documents said. A confidential source, meanwhile, told FBI agents that they suspected Nadasi as the man inside the bank and added that Nadasi was friendly with Bernhardt, who drove a dark colored sedan, according to court documents.
Bernhardt’s defense attorney contacted Kalispell Police on Sept. 7 with word that the 19-year-old wanted to speak with detectives about the bank robbery, court documents said. Bernhardt allegedly provided a written statement to investigators accusing Nadasi of entering the bank and implicating himself as the getaway driver.
He also met with detectives to discuss the pair’s plan, route and motive, and described the duo’s actions following the robbery, court documents said. Bernhardt went so far as to drive the route with Detective Dan Williams and helped authorities recover stolen license plates discarded after the heist, according to court documents.
Both Nadasi and Bernhardt were simultaneously under investigation in Silver Bow County for their alleged roles in a bank robbery there in September. Silver Bow Sheriff Ed Lester announced in late October arrest warrants for Bernhardt and Nadasi on robbery and accountability to robbery, respectively, in connection with that heist.
Nadasi was studying at the University of Montana at the time, according to the Montana Kaimin, the school’s student newspaper.
An affidavit filed in Flathead County District Court offered more details about the summertime robbery in Kalispell. Nadasi allegedly passed a note to a teller inside the bank asking for money. The teller, worried Nadasi had a gun after seeing him reach for his side during their interaction, turned over about $11,000, according to court documents.
Nadasi’s alleged note had asked for $10,000 in $100 bills and another $10,000 in $50 bills. It specified that the haul was to exclude dye packs, counterfeits and marked bills, according to court documents.
Nadasi also faces felony charges of burglary and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in Flathead County District Court in connection with an alleged March 2022 break-in at his grandparent’s Kalispell home. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
An omnibus hearing in Nadasi’s case is scheduled for March 22 with a pretrial conference to follow on April 12. Bernhardt has an omnibus hearing set for Feb. 22 with a pretrial conference slated for March 8 and a status hearing April 3.
Robbery and accountability to robbery are punishable by between two and 40 years in state prison and a $50,000 fine.
News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.
