For the third time in four months, attorneys for the man who broke into and destroyed a Kalispell health clinic have asked for additional time to file a formal appeal with the Montana Supreme Court.
Zachary Klundt filed the notice on July 22, more than a month after he received a 20-year sentence with 15 years suspended for vandalizing All Families Healthcare in 2014. The crime made regional headlines because the clinic was the only one in the Flathead Valley that offered abortions.
In March 2014, Klundt broke into the clinic and destroyed nearly everything in sight. He was arrested a few days later and charged with burglary, criminal mischief and theft. Earlier this year, Klundt pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced in June. At the three-day hearing, Klundt’s attorney tried to convince the judge that his client was drunk and looking for drugs when he broke into the clinic. But prosecutors argued it was politically motivated. Klundt’s mother, Twyla Klundt, was on the board of Hope Pregnancy Ministries, a local Christian group that opposes abortion.
Once Klundt filed for an appeal he had a month to present an opening brief but the public defenders representing him have filed for three separate extensions since then. On Dec. 3, a Supreme Court judge granted another extension and Klundt’s attorneys now have until Jan. 27, 2016 to file a brief.
According to court documents, the extensions were necessary because Klundt’s first public defender had taken a new job. A new attorney has yet to be assigned to the case.