Man accused of burglary spree denies charges

Samuel Robert Hundley, 29, pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges in Flathead District Court after being accused of leading police in a car chase following a rash of Kalispell burglaries in 2016.

Hundley is charged with four counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary, criminal endangerment and criminal mischief.

He was transported from Crossroads Correctional Center in Shelby — where he is currently incarcerated — for his arraignment in Kalispell on Aug. 17.

Defense attorney Maury Solomon addressed the court regarding the defendant’s court filings on his own behalf, requesting three weeks to review the matter. Solomon was directed to file any supplemental motions by Sept. 7, giving the state two weeks to respond.

A jury trial is set for Nov. 6.

Several of the burglaries occurred on Jan. 23, 2016, on the west side of Kalispell north of Center Street, and shared similar methodology such as wires being cut in order to disable alarms.

According to court documents, Kalispell Police Department was dispatched at 12:43 that morning to Kalispell Alignment and Auto Repair on a passer-by’s report of an active alarm. Officers arrived to find the main entry door open. While clearing the building, police noticed that desks had been rummaged through. Police determined that the phone lines to the business had been disabled.

While police were speaking with the business owners, an officer who had left the location reportedly heard an alarm from Copper Mountain Coffee around 1:15 a.m. The officer allegedly saw a man run from the coffee shop and then a white vehicle pull out hurriedly. The vehicle reportedly pulled over when the officer put on his lights, but then did not comply with the officer’s commands and drove off.

The vehicle was pursued by several police units and reportedly ran a stop sign at Seventh Avenue West and West Center Street — nearly colliding with a passer-by. During the pursuit the vehicle collided with several parked cars and a patrol car. After running several more stop signs, the driver eventually lost control, drove through a yard and hit a parked car before the vehicle came to a rest in a snow bank. The driver then fled the scene.

The vehicle registration showed it was owned by woman known to be Hundley’s girlfriend. When officers visited Hundley’s last known address, a woman allegedly answered the door, stating, “It’s OK. He’s here and told us everything.” Police noticed fresh cuts on Hundley’s hands. Before he was arrested, Hundley reportedly asked officers, “How did you find me so fast?”

Hundley allegedly admitted to driving his girlfriend’s vehicle, fleeing from police and striking several vehicles in the pursuit. He also admitted to breaking a window at Copper Mountain Coffee, where it was later learned that phone and internet lines had been cut.

Police received a couple more burglary reports later that morning.

At 8:44 a.m., police were dispatched to AirWorks, where officers met with the owner who said he couldn’t open a door that had been damaged when he arrived. According to court documents, officers ascertained that the culprit was unable to gain entry. Later that day the owner reportedly discovered electrical panel wires had been cut.

At 10:16 a.m., police responded to another burglary report at Rock-n-Roll Taco when someone working next door noticed damage. A side glass door had been broken, several electrical box wires severed and an entry door forced open. Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed a white vehicle parking at Rock-n-Roll Taco, followed by the electricity in the area going dark. The time on the surveillance footage showed the incident occurred in close proximity to the time the alarm at Kalispell Alignment and Auto Repair was reported.

On Jan. 25, 2016, police were dispatched to Fifth Avenue West North to meet with a man who reported that he had been gone for a few days and returned to find a rear door to his shop pried open and the door jam broken. The man showed officers where his tools had allegedly been piled up by the shop’s front door. Shoe prints were spotted in the snow leading to a power box where the ground wire had been cut in an alleged attempt to disable any alarms, according to police. An officer reportedly followed the tracks from the side of the building to the rear door where entry was made and in the direction of Copper Mountain Coffee. According to court documents, the tracks appeared a couple of days old, which was consistent with the time frame of the other burglaries.

The losses at Copper Mountain Coffee were estimated at $639. Damages to the patrol car totaled $1,819.93. Officers noted in the court documents that there would be additional costs related to damages regarding the damaged vehicles and the cut wires.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.