Accused squatter sentenced for criminal mischief, bail jumping

A Flathead County District Court judge in September handed down a pair of five-year sentences to a woman caught allegedly squatting in a vacant home near Columbia Falls last year.

Judge Danni Coffman gave Ashley Katherine Coil, 38, a deferred five-year sentence to the state Department of Corrections for felony criminal mischief on Sept. 20. Coil also earned a suspended five-year sentence for bail jumping, a charge she racked up after missing her previously scheduled sentencing in June.

Coffman gave Coil credit for 189 days of time served for the criminal mischief charge and ordered her to pay $2,500 in restitution to the property owner. Coil received credit for 82 days of time served on the bail jumping charge.

Prosecutors initially brought Coil up on a felony burglary charge. Deputies with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office arrested Coil after a caretaker reported seeing people go in and out of a vacant home in October 2022, court documents said. Coil claimed to own the home, but a check of property records showed that to be false, according to court documents.

After contacting the owners, deputies searched the home, finding evidence of people living in the house for several days, court documents said. The detritus included empty bottles of alcohol, according to court documents.

Coil reached a plea deal with prosecutors in April. In exchange, prosecutors offered to amend the felony charge to criminal mischief and recommend a deferred sentence along with restitution. She struck a second deal in September after earning the bail jumping charge, pleading guilty in exchange for a recommendation for a suspended sentence.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.