A Kalispell man is in custody after allegedly robbing an Evergreen pharmacy at gunpoint Saturday and kidnapping an employee. Felony charges are pending against 33-year-old Shawn Patrick Malarkey, of Kalispell, after authorities apprehended him at the Whitefish Train Depot Sunday, prompting an evacuation of the facility.
Malarkey entered the Evergreen Pharmacy at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday and, armed with a semiautomatic handgun, demanded Oxycontin, according to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office. After an employee provided the drugs, Malarkey allegedly demanded to be driven from the premises in the employee’s green Ford pickup at gunpoint.
The suspect had the employee drive him to the LDS Church on Whitefish Stage Road, where Malarkey allegedly released the employee unharmed and drove off in his vehicle. The truck was later found in a ditch at the intersection of Tronstad Drive and Tronstad Road, and authorities believe a passerby may have attempted to help get the vehicle out of the ditch.
Over the course of the day, deputies in the Sheriff’s Office, with the help of the Kalispell Police Department, were able to determine who they believed the suspect to be, and learned he was attempting to leave the area. They located him at about 9:20 p.m. at the Whitefish Train Depot, and evacuated it for a short time.
Though Malarkey was armed, Sheriff’s deputies and Whitefish Police officers took him into custody without incident.