Man gets suspended sentence for Rose Crossing burglaries

A 33-year-old Kalispell man was given a six-year suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to felony burglary.

Flathead County District Court Judge Robert Allison sentenced Charles “Chad” Onthank on April 24. He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, with half suspended, and $800 in public defender fees, all suspended. Onthank faced up to 20 years if convicted.

According to court documents, sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a man taking a coffee table out of a garage on Rose Crossing, in Kalispell on Sept. 8, 2013. When the owner confronted the suspect, the man dropped the table and ran.

Deputies located Onthank, who was positively identified by the owner as the suspect. A search of Onthank’s property on Rose Crossing turned up several items reported stolen from other Rose Crossing properties — two fishing poles, two tackle boxes and a chainsaw.

In a Feb. 4 plea agreement, the county attorney’s office recommended eight years with the Department of Corrections, all suspended, and Onthank’s public defender recommended six years with the DOC, all suspended. Both recommended that Onthank make good on his restitution.

Onthank pleaded guilty on Feb. 6 by way of an Alford plea, in which he denied his guilt but agreed overwhelming evidence existed to convict him.

Flathead County District Court Judge Heidi Ulbricht accepted Onthank’s Alford plea on Feb. 13 and dismissed a misdemeanor theft charge, but she denied his bond reduction motion on Feb. 20. Onthank was released from the county jail after he was sentenced by Judge Allison on April 24.