Libby man pleads guilty to burglarizing baseball field

A Libby man accused of burglarizing Lee Gehring Memorial Field has pleaded guilty to the offense.

Myron Lisle Rowe, 35, entered his plea March 10 in Lincoln County District Court. Rowe, who remains in the Lincoln County Detention Center, was first charged with felony burglary, felony theft and misdemeanor criminal mischief, following an investigation last fall by the county sheriff’s office.

Maury Solomon, with the state Office of the Public Defender, is representing Rowe, while Deputy County Attorney Jeffrey Zwang is prosecuting the case. Solomon negotiated a plea deal with Zwang that recommends a 10-year prison sentence, with five suspended, for pleading guilty to burglary. The theft and criminal mischief charges will be dismissed.

Also part of the deal are the proposed dismissal of felony drug possession charges from 2024. Rowe’s sentencing is scheduled for March 24.

Rowe was already serving a 3-year term in a state facility for a drug possession conviction in April 2024. He initially got a deferred sentence before other legal entanglements earned him the 3-year sentence.

According to Probation Officer Steve Watson’s report, Rowe was a suspect in a thrift store theft, was in possession of 2.8 grams of meth and a pipe during a probation search and never contacted a drug treatment facility following a referral.

Watson also alleged that Rowe was caught shoplifting at a Libby grocery store and admitted his girlfriend, Ashley Obrecht overdosed on fentanyl.

In the Gehring Field burglary case, it had been the site of vandalism on several occasions over the years, but the installation of a surveillance camera system resulted in the arrest of Rowe.

According to county Det. Anthony Jenson, Sheriff Darren Short spoke to him on Oct. 3 after learning from a Libby Loggers Legion baseball coach that someone had broken into the field and a locked area. 

The coach had security video of the incident and believed items were stolen. When Jenson walked through an open gate on the north side of the field, he saw a ladder next to the doors which led into the locked area under the bleachers. The doors were pulled away from the wall, allowing room for someone to climb the ladder and slide down inside the doors. Jenson also saw a small ladder inside so someone could climb up from the inside and exit the locked area.

When the officers investigated the grilling area they noted the grill was still hot enough to cause a burn and it appeared someone turned on the propane. They and the coach then looked inside the area under the bleachers and a weed eater was missing.

According to the officers, they recognized the man inside the area as Rowe. More review of the video indicated Rowe allegedly took two boxes of frozen hamburgers. He then saw the security camera, reached up and allegedly destroyed the device.

During multiple searches of the general area, officers found nothing, but when Short checked on a wooded area near the Legion field, he saw backpacks and a weed trimmer in the bushes. A total of three backpacks, two baseball bats, a weed trimmer and the boxes of burgers were found.

A check of the backpacks turned up dozens of items which were valued at more than $2,100. 

In another report by Det. Jenson, he wrote that he found Rowe on Oct. 16 at a family member’s motorhome parked near the train station. Rowe and Jenson spoke and the defendant first said he didn’t know anything about the burglary at the field.

When Jenson told Rowe there were security cameras, Rowe allegedly admitted he had been there. He said he crawled over the chain link fence before crawling into the area under the bleachers. Rowe allegedly admitted he used an axe in an attempt to break the chain which held the door shut. 

According to Jenson’s report, Rowe allegedly admitted to going through the area before identifying some of the items he took, including bats and backpacks, and left them in the trees behind the park.

The defendant reportedly said he felt bad for what he had done and was going to put it all back and leave an apology note.

A conviction for burglary may result in a 20-year prison term while a theft conviction may result in a 3-year term. For criminal mischief, the maximum sentence is six months in the county jail.