A man accused of kidnapping and raping a woman in northwestern Montana has pleaded not guilty.
Twenty-two-year-old Matthew G. Rockwell appeared before a judge in Kalispell this week and pleaded to charges of kidnapping, rape and burglary.
Authorities allege he used a stolen pistol to threaten a woman at her home in Martin City on Nov. 19, then took her to Las Vegas against her will. Investigators say she fled on Nov. 24 and reported she had been raped repeatedly.
Rockwell, whose last known address was in Grand Junction, Colo., was arrested Dec. 1 at his mother’s home in Bozeman. He underwent a mental evaluation in May, after a three-hour armed standoff with law enforcement officers at a Kalispell residence.