Police chase suspect enters guilty plea

A Troy man accused of leading law officers from two states and three counties on a wild chase last year has pleaded guilty.

Caleb David Covey, 38, entered a plea of guilty, but mentally ill, Monday in Lincoln County District Court.

Flathead County Judge Amy Eddy, who is hearing the case, accepted the plea and set sentencing for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 24. 

Covey pleaded to seven counts of felony criminal mischief and one felony count of criminal endangerment. Other charges were dismissed following the April 3 plea deal between Lincoln County Deputy Attorney Jeff Zwang and Sean Hinchey, Covey’s attorney.

Part of the agreement includes a recommendation of commitment to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, meaning Covey would serve any time he receives at the state hospital in Warm Springs.

Covey faces the possibility of a maximum term of 80 years if the sentence is to be served consecutively. Covey, who is free on $750,000 bail, is also facing paying restitution and is not allowed to consume or possess alcohol or illegal drugs. 

He must also continue to take his prescribed medication.

Covey’s run from law enforcement and civilians who tried to derail his vehicular rampage through Libby, south Lincoln County, Sanders County and eastern Idaho, occurred Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024.

The chase began in the late afternoon hours that day after Libby Police Officer Don Luthey was dispatched to a possible hit-and-run collision at a residence on Main Avenue. Luthey received information from Lincoln County Dispatch that a Ford F350 pickup was towing a camouflage colored Toyota pickup. 

The towed truck had struck a fence on Main Avenue, then a parked vehicle and a power pole on California Avenue. After hitting the pole, the tow line came loose, but an eyewitness said the man driving the Ford reattached the strap to the Toyota and drove away.

Libby Police Officer Caleb Thomas spoke to the owner of a truck that Covey allegedly stole and drug around Libby. The man said he didn’t know Covey, but a neighbor allegedly told him that Covey’s girlfriend used to live in the man’s home.

Law officers weren’t the only ones trying to stop Covey’s alleged rampage. A number of citizens also attempted to assist in derailing Covey’s pickup. One of the men later went to Cabinet Peaks Medical Center for injuries he sustained during the incident.

The chase ended when Covey slowed while driving on the winding road with high cliffs to the right and a cement jersey barrier on the left. Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Davis, who has since resigned from the department, drove alongside Covey’s vehicle, pushed it sideway where it spun and stopped. He drew his gun and yelled to Covey to get out of the truck. 

According to a statement by Davis in the probable cause affidavit, Covey said he cut this throat in attempt to avoid going to jail.

“How did that not work? This is stupid, how did this not work,” Covey allegedly said to Davis during his arrest. “This was my mission and it didn’t work, I should have been dead.”

According to the Montana Department of Corrections, Covey was first held in a confidential location after he was taken to Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with several self-inflicted wounds after the chase ended on Highway 200.

Covey pleaded not guilty Feb. 26, 2024, to multiple felony charges. He was released from custody July 2 after $500,000 bail was posted.

According to a court document, at an Oct. 21 hearing before Eddy, Hinchey and county Attorney Boris, they had received copies of Covey’s evaluation which determined he was fit to proceed. Three days later, authorities received the phone call from Covey’s mother that he was acting, “strange.”

But Covey was returned to the Lincoln County Detention Center Oct. 28 following a report by Probation and Parole Officer Alice Rhodes. 

According to her report, she received a phone call on Oct. 24 from the defendant’s mother that he was not taking his prescribed medications and was exhibiting strange behavior. The report also indicated Covey’s mother believed her son may be having a psychotic break. 

She also said he was driving his truck in the yard outside their home.

According to Covey’s release conditions, he was not allowed to operate a motor vehicle between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. and was required to take all medications prescribed for him.

Covey's past includes two run-ins with law officers dating back to 2015. He was arrested on April 23, 2015 following a domestic disturbance at his home. A plea deal saw two counts of assaulting a peace officer dropped in exchange for a guilty plea to two counts of misdemeanor resisting arrest. That resulted in a suspended sentence in 2016.

Covey received a 10-year sentence, with five suspended, in 2019 following a drunken police chase in September 2018. At some point, Covey was paroled.