Suspected downtown Kalispell shooter pleads not guilty

The man accused of shooting up businesses along South Main Street in Kalispell last month pleaded not guilty Thursday to multiple felony charges in Flathead County District Court.  

Lewis Anthony Crooks, 25, of Kalispell was arraigned before Judge Dan Wilson on counts of criminal endangerment and criminal mischief on Sept. 5. He remains in the county jail with bail set at $100,000. 

Wilson set an omnibus hearing in the case for Oct. 2 with a pretrial conference to follow on Nov. 19.  

Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Crooks departed a downtown veterans organization in a dark-colored SUV about 1:27 a.m., Aug. 26 before heading up South Main Street and opening fire on the darkened businesses.  

Kalispell Police began investigating the shooting the next morning after employees reported finding a bullet hole in the door of one of the businesses along with a bullet and fragments, court documents said. Officers located similar bullet holes in a nearby clothing store and restaurant, all on the 300 block of South Main Street.  

Officers later found evidence of bullet strikes on businesses along the 200 block of South Main Street. They estimated the total damage to area businesses at more than $1,500, court documents said.  

Reviewing surveillance footage, detectives saw a dark-colored SUV traveling north along the downtown street as gunshots rang out. They tracked the vehicle back to a nearby veterans organization, where it was parked prior to the shooting. Footage taken there showed a man get into the vehicle and head down Fourth Street West toward South Main Street, where it took a left-hand turn, according to court documents.  

Witnesses at the veterans organization identified Crooks as the driver of the SUV and said he was the vehicle's sole occupant. Detectives confirmed his identity using his vehicle registration and the surveillance footage, court documents said.  

But Crooks denied firing the gun during a subsequent interview with authorities. Crooks said he had a passenger in the vehicle, a woman, when he left the veterans organization in the early morning hours of Aug. 26. She shot a semiautomatic pistol at the businesses while he drove, he allegedly told investigators.  

Crooks, who said he did not own a firearm, declined to offer any identifying information about the woman, according to court documents.  

During a search of his apartment, officers allegedly found a gun next to his bed.  

Criminal endangerment is punishable by up to 10 years in Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine. Prosecutors can seek an additional two-to-10-year stint in prison owing to the use of a firearm.  

Criminal mischief carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars and a $50,000 fine. 

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