Kalispell standoff suspect given suspended sentence

The man at the center of a Kalispell standoff involving the regional SWAT team in September received a suspended sentence in Flathead County District Court on Jan. 3.

Judge Amy Eddy handed down a five-year suspended sentence with the state Department of Corrections to Trevor Allen Berggren on one count of felony criminal endangerment. The 28-year-old initially faced felony charges of assault with a weapon and partner or family member strangulation following his arrest in the late night Sept. 23 standoff. 

The confrontation began after Kalispell Police officers responded to a reported disturbance at a Glenwood Drive apartment about 11:40 p.m., according to court documents. Berggren’s girlfriend accused the 28-year-old of threatening to kill her before hurling a knife at her and later strangling her, court documents said. Berggren also threatened her with death if she contacted law enforcement, she alleged. 

Officers were joined by the Northwest Montana Regional SWAT team and the Kalispell Police Department Special Response Team after Berggren refused to leave the apartment, according to court documents. He was later taken into custody. 

Berggren pleaded not guilty to the charges in April, but struck a deal with prosecutors in November. In exchange for a guilty plea to an amended charge of criminal endangerment and an admission to violating his probation on a previous felony theft conviction, prosecutors agreed to recommend the suspended sentence.

Berggren ultimately pleaded guilty by way of an Alford plea. In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains their innocence while acknowledging the likelihood of a jury convicting them. 

Judge Dan Wilson, who presided over the probation violation, sentenced Berggren to three years with the Department of Corrections on Nov. 30. Wilson credited Berggren with 98 days of time served and seven months probationary time. 

During Berggren’s Jan. 3 sentencing on the criminal endangerment charge, Eddy ordered the suspended sentence to run concurrent with Wilson’s three-year sentence and gave the 28-year-old credit for 101 days of time served.

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