Despondent man rolls vehicle on North Fork Road at 95 mph
A Kalispell man with drug addiction problems rolled his vehicle on the North Fork Road on May 10. Nicholas Merrell, 26, said he swerved to avoid wildlife and was despondent about something a friend had said. He refused to provide a breath test.
The Montana Highway Patrol trooper who arrested Merrell estimates he was traveling about 95 mph when he crashed. Merrell was cited for DUI, no insurance and failure to give notice — three more charges in a long list that began with a major vandalism spree in Whitefish seven years ago.
On March 28, 2007, Whitefish officers responded to a rented condo on Wisconsin Avenue to find basketball-sized holes in all the sheetrock, broken stair railings and doors, and fixtures ripped from the walls.
Merrell allegedly told officers about a dispute he’d had with the condo’s renter and his decision to get back at the man by damaging the residence. Merrell was charged with felony criminal mischief and faced up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
In a plea deal reached by public defender Vicki Frazier eight months later, the county attorney’s office recommended a six-year deferred sentence and $31,929 in restitution.
Flathead County District Court Judge Ted Lympus sentenced Merrell on Feb. 7, 2008.
According to state probation reports, Merrell was cited for a DUI and other violations while living in Oregon and was sent back to Montana.
Following a relapse in 2010, Merrell began to rack up numerous drug and alcohol violations involving beer, vodka, marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.
He was also cited for failing to pay restitution and to appear for chemical dependency evaluations.
A petition to revoke his sentence on April 16, 2013 was followed with a second petition on June 12. Judge Robert Allison re-sentenced Merrell on Aug. 29 to 10 years in prison, all suspended, and ordered him to pay $100 a month on his restitution.
Merrell was back in trouble on Feb. 8, 2014 when police officers responded to the Outlaw Inn in Kalispell and arrested him on disorderly and resisting arrest charges.
Merrell was allegedly in the room of another felon, got drunk and then went wild — waving a knife around and shouting obscenities at people. He posted a $1,000 bond and was released on April 18 with a drug patch.
Following his crash on the North Fork Road, the county attorney’s office filed a third petition to revoke Merrell’s sentence. The probation office recommended 10 years with the Department of Corrections, with half suspended, and a recommendation for the Connection Corrections boot camp followed by prerelease. His next hearing is June 5.