Marion man sentenced for high-speed chase

A Marion man accused of leading law enforcement on a chase through Kalispell and along Montana 35 in the fall of 2022 earned a trio of suspended sentences in October.

Appearing before Judge Heidi Ulbricht in Flathead County District Court on Oct. 4, Jeffery George Armstrong Jr., 41, received six-month suspended sentences in the county jail for misdemeanor negligent endangerment, driving under the influence and resisting arrest. Ulbricht ordered all three sentences to run concurrently and credited Armstrong for 15 days of time served. 

Prosecutors initially brought Armstrong up on a felony charge of criminal endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest following his Nov. 8, 2022 arrest near the intersection of Montana 35 and Montana 206. 

According to court documents, the chase began after Armstrong sped by a Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputy on East Idaho Street in Kalispell, traveling roughly 80 mph in the 25 mph zone. He allegedly accelerated to 90 mph after the deputy hit the emergency lights and attempted a traffic stop. 

Although eventually coming to a stop, Armstrong initially refused orders to exit his Dodge pickup, court documents said. Though he later got out, he continued to act uncooperatively with authorities “until non-lethal rounds were deployed,” according to court documents. 

Armstrong initially pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, but struck a deal with prosecutors in October 2023. In exchange for guilty pleas to the amended charges, prosecutors agreed to recommend the trio of suspended sentences.

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