Assault suspect deemed unfit to proceed

A man accused of threatening workers at a Kalispell shelter earlier this year saw a felony charge brought against him dropped after mental health experts deemed him unfit to proceed.

Kalispell Police officers arrested Ilya Paul Khmelev, 26, on Jan. 7 after he allegedly threatened a shelter worker with a metal pole about 3 feet in length, court documents said. Staff at the shelter had removed Khmelev from the property following a disturbance, prompting the confrontation, according to court documents.

Prosecutors subsequently charged Khmelev with felony assault with a weapon in Flathead County District Court. Judge Robert Allison later that month ordered Khmelev to the Montana State Hospital for evaluations at the behest of his defense attorney, Liam Gallagher.

In the interim, Allison entered a plea of not guilty on Khmelev’s behalf. Khmelev proved uncommunicative at a Jan. 25 arraignment.

County Attorney Travis Ahner filed the motion to dismiss due to lack of fitness on Aug. 29. In it, he wrote that Khmelev underwent an evaluation in June. Though it indicated he suffered from mental disorders, treatment providers expressed optimism that he might be restored in the future.

That outlook grew considerably more pessimistic following a second evaluation on Aug. 24, Ahner wrote. Doctors deemed him unfit to proceed and unlikely to be restored to fitness “in the foreseeable future,” according to Ahner.

Ahner indicated that his office would pursue a civil commitment instead.

Allison, citing the motion as well as Aug. 24 evaluation, ordered the case dismissed without prejudice that same day.

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