Suspect in break-ins given consecutive sentences

A Kalispell man facing a slew of charges across multiple felony cases received a net five years with the state Department of Corrections late last month. 

Christopher Thomas Shannon, 23, initially faced felony burglary, criminal mischief and criminal possession of dangerous drugs charges as well as one misdemeanor count of theft in Flathead County District Court following a string of alleged break-ins across the valley in mid-May. Awaiting sentencing after striking a deal with prosecutors, Shannon was arrested again in August for allegedly shoplifting and then struggling with Kalispell Police officers. 

Prosecutors brought him up on a felony count of threats or improper influence in official matters and a misdemeanor theft charge in a separate case following the August arrest at a Kalispell grocery store.

At Shannon’s sentencing Sept. 21 on the earlier case, prosecutors told Judge Robert Allison that the County Attorney’s Office had reached an amended plea deal with the 23-year-old, according to court records. Dismissing the drug possession and misdemeanor theft charge, Allison handed down a three-year sentence with the Department of Corrections for felony burglary and two years for criminal mischief. The two are to run consecutively. 

Shannon also received credit for 111 days of time served and Allison ordered him to pay a total of $9,511.66 in restitution to the two businesses that suffered damage as a result of the alleged burglaries. 

That same day, Deputy County Attorney Stacy Boman filed a motion to dismiss Shannon’s charges from the alleged August incident, citing the amended plea agreement. Judge Heidi Ulbricht ordered the case dismissed with prejudice on Sept. 22.

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