Marciniak pleads not guilty to felony theft charges

Jackson Anthony Marciniak pleaded not guilty to a pair of felony charges in Lincoln County District Court on March 30 stemming from the theft of more than $60,000 in property, including handguns, from a Sunday Creek home last year.

Authorities charged Marciniak with two counts of felony theft of property exceeding $5,000 in connection with the June 2019 break-in. He is being held at the Lincoln County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.

A neighbor watching the home while the victim went on vacation alerted authorities to the burglary on June 9. He told Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Dale White he noticed extra lights on in the house the night prior. During an inspection in the sunlight, he found the garage door open, the victim’s Chevrolet Tahoe missing and the home ransacked, court documents said.

Investigators determined that the burglars likely used unlocked doors to get inside. They then busted the lock on the victim’s gunroom, breaking the door and frame in the process. Once inside, the thieves helped themselves to the victim’s firearm collection, many of them manufactured by Ruger, court documents said.

In an affidavit, White noticed the suspects also went through the victim’s bedroom, likely looking for drugs. White concluded that the thieves likely approached the home from the rear, using an all terrain vehicle.

While White was waiting on the victim to finalize a list of stolen firearms, sheriff’s deputies in Spokane County, Wash., arrested Marciniak on June 14 after finding him behind the wheel of the stolen Chevrolet Tahoe. He gave a fake name, but authorities confirmed his identity using an ID card issued by Illinois while arresting him for driving under the influence, according to court documents.

A woman accompanying Marciniak allegedly told Washington state authorities that the pair was visiting his mother. But she could offer few other details about the person they were supposedly en route to see. She said Marciniak’s brother had loaned them the vehicle, according to court documents, but said the vehicle belonged to another individual.

At the time, authorities in Washington state questioned whether they had enough evidence to prove Marciniak knew the vehicle was stolen, White wrote in his affidavit.

But that changed after an employee of the impound lot where the vehicle was held went through the Tahoe. According to court documents, the employee found seven guns.

On June 16, the victim gave authorities a full tally of items missing from his Sunday Creek home. The list included 10 suitcases and travel bags, several dollars in coins and a collection of 50 quarters commemorating the states, two custom knives and narcotic pain relief pills.

Authorities estimated the missing guns at $52,725. Combined with the other stolen belongings and the vehicle, investigators put the total loss at $60,125.

Of the guns found in the vehicle, White believed six belonged to the Lincoln County victim, including a .45 caliber Colt Peacekeeper.

A day later, on June 17, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Detective Dave Hall received an email from an online program alerting him that a stolen firearm was pawned in Kalispell. Authorities there attempted to arrest the man who had pawned the weapon, but were unable to find him.

During his conversations with Flathead County law enforcement officials, Hall learned that Marciniak and several other individuals were under suspicion for allegedly stealing vehicles and committing burglaries in that jurisdiction.

Marciniak is expected back in Lincoln County District Court on May 18 for an omnibus hearing, with pretrial scheduled for July 6 and a trial date of August 18.