Riley Landwehr said he was looking to score a few bucks for gas when he helped some friends rob a man they thought was a meth addict in the Kmart parking lot in Evergreen three months ago.
But the victim of the crime was no victim at all. He was an undercover cop and it turned out Landwehr and his friends were the targets of a Northwest Montana Drug Task Force sting.
On Thursday, Landwehr, 19, pleaded guilty to felony criminal endangerment in Flathead County District Court. The change of plea hearing came three months after Landwehr pleaded not guilty to accountability to robbery following the Jan. 6 incident in Evergreen.
Landwehr was one of four teenagers arrested during the sting. Jacob Orion Sauls, 18, of Eureka, pleaded not guilty to felony robbery and Kellen McGarry, 19, of Whitefish, pleaded not guilty to accountability to robbery. An unidentified 14-year-old from Kalispell was also arrested after the incident and has been charged in juvenile court.
According to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, a Northwest Montana Drug Task Force agent responded to a Craigslist ad implying that the online advertiser had methamphetamine for sale. The agent arranged to meet with the man who placed the ad at the Kmart parking lot in Evergreen at 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 6.
When the undercover agent arrived, Sauls and McGarry got into the vehicle, according to court records. Sauls told the officer that he needed the money before he could go get the methamphetamine, but the officer refused. Sauls then reached into his waistband and stated this was a “rip” and that he was robbing the agent, according to prosecutors.
The officer, fearful for his life, handed Sauls the money and Sauls and McGarry got into a vehicle driven by Landwehr and with the 14-year-old defendant present. Moments later, other officers appeared and arrested the four teens without incident. When they searched the teens they found a loaded gun under Sauls’ belt.
During Thursday’s hearing, District Court Judge Robert Allison asked Landwehr why he tried to rob a cop.
“I was getting gas money out of the situation, so I guess greed was a factor,” he said.
“You do realize you’ve been sitting in jail since January because of a few bucks of gas money?” Allison said.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a 10-year suspended sentence to the Montana Department of Corrections. Landwehr will be back in court for sentencing on June 18.