Suspect arrested in Aspen Court standoff given suspended sentences

A 61-year-old man arrested in 2023 during a standoff in an Aspen Court home received a pair of suspended sentences in Flathead County District Court in January.  

Judge Heidi Ulbricht handed down concurrent five-year sentences for aggravated burglary and criminal possession of dangerous drugs, both suspended, on Jan. 9 to Benjamin Kulina. She gave him credit for seven days of time served.  

Kulina pleaded guilty to both counts in November after taking a plea deal. 

The man surrendered to members of the regional SWAT team on Oct. 12, 2023, after holing up in an Aspen Court home, according to court documents and law enforcement officials. The standoff began while Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputies were investigating a vehicle abandoned in the middle of Capistrano Road about 7:28 a.m. 

Deputies received a phone call from the vehicle's registered owner, later identified as Kulina, who described a hostage situation but gave no location, officials said at the time.  

Authorities subsequently searched the area and discovered evidence someone had broken into an Aspen Court home. They learned the house should have been vacant after contacting the property owner, according to court documents. 

Phoning authorities a second time, Kulina allegedly threatened to shoot at law enforcement personnel and nearby homes. That presaged the arrival of the SWAT team, which negotiated Kulina's eventual surrender, court documents said.  

Kulina was allegedly armed with a gun at the time of his arrest. 

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