A 19-year-old Kalispell man has been committed to the Department of Corrections two months after stealing a railroad maintenance truck and leading police on a high-speed chase through Coram.
Tyler Rodney Volkmann was sentenced in Flathead County District Court on Feb. 23 to 15 years in the Department of Corrections, with 10 years suspended, and will most likely be placed in a drug treatment program. Volkmann will also have to pay more than $20,000 in restitution, including $18,000 to BNSF Railway to pay for damage sustained to the stolen truck.
According to court documents and testimony, Volkmann was initially charged with theft in June 2016 after being accused of stealing a Ford F-250 from a Columbia Falls man in a separate incident. Then in December, he was charged with felony theft and criminal endangerment after stealing a BNSF truck and leading a high-speed police chase in which he nearly ran over sheriff deputies. That chase ended when Volkmann crashed the vehicle. After a brief foot chase, Volkmann was placed under arrest.
Volkmann pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and one count of criminal endangerment in January.