Thief faces possible 40-year sentence

A Libby man has pleaded guilty to a trio of charges after committing several burglaries and fleeing from police.

Andrew Dlask, 22, pleaded guilty May 13 in Flathead District Court to felony charges of burglary, theft and criminal mischief. Two additional counts of felony burglary were dismissed.

A court document states Dlask stole a 2000 Nissan Frontier pickup truck, two desktop computers, a laptop computer, an iPad, two gallon jugs of dimes, an electric scooter and four bicycles and caused $2,600 in damage to a Mercedes Benz between May 19 and 22, 2013.

He was caught by police on May 23, 2013, after being pursued in the stolen truck, from which he ran on foot through a thick forest, a creek and a swamp.

A sentencing hearing was set for July 31.

District Judge Heidi Ulbricht ordered Dlask to remain at the Montana State Hospital until July 29, at which point he will be released to his parents on his own recognizance.

Dlask is facing a sentence of up to 40 years in the Montana State Prison and a fine of up to $150,000 as well as restitution.

Davis writes for The Daily Inter Lake