Alleged squatter given suspended jail sentence

An alleged squatter accused last year of threatening to shoot at deputies trying to remove him from state property received a suspended sentence in Flathead County District Court in January. 

Prosecutors brought Dion Jay Stark, 52, up on a felony count of intimidation following the March 29 confrontation near the intersection of Two Mile Drive and the U.S. 93 bypass in Kalispell. They amended the charge to misdemeanor resisting arrest in January after Stark opted for a plea deal. 

After accepting Stark’s plea of no contest to the misdemeanor, Judge Heidi Ulbricht on Jan. 11 sentenced him to six months in the county jail with all that time suspended. She also gave Stark credit for 147 days of time served. 

Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Stark after state workers asked them to remove him from a shed on the property, according to court documents. When deputies arrived and identified themselves, Stark allegedly began yelling and threatening to shoot them. 

Unable to see Stark inside the shed, deputies believed he possessed guns, court documents said. 

With the arrival of more law enforcement personnel on the scene, authorities removed Stark from the shed, according to court documents.

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