POLSON – A drifter charged with trying to steal foreclosed houses in Polson has been found competent to stand trial.
District Judge Kim Christopher ordered Brent Arthur Wilson, 53, committed to the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs in late March to determine if he was fit to stand trial after he refused to participate in court hearings and declined a public defender.
Wilson is back in the Lake County jail after an evaluation found him mentally competent to stand trial. His bail is set at $100,000.
Wilson was arrested in January after a real estate agent noticed the “For Sale” signs had been taken down and the locks changed on a $300,000 log house he was hired to sell.
Wilson is charged with theft, deceptive practices and tampering with public records or information in the filing of bizarre paperwork with the county aimed at claiming ownership of homes.
Officials allege Wilson was collecting rent on one house, living in another and trying to take control of the log house.
Lake County officials said paperwork for some of the homes said Wilson had purchased the property from God.
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