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Martin City Man Sentenced for Stealing Guns, Ammo

Man stole two dozen guns and thousands of rounds of ammo

By Justin Franz

A Martin City man was given a seven-year suspended sentence to the Montana Department of Corrections seven months after he stole nearly two-dozen weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition from a home in Kila.

Tucker Mathis appeared at a sentencing hearing on July 14 in Flathead County District Court. Mathis was also given a second, two-year suspended sentence for a parole violation from a previous conviction that will run consecutively to the theft sentence.

Mathis had initially denied the allegations of felony theft earlier this year but in May he pleaded guilty.

According to court records, a plow truck driver reported that a home in Kila appeared to have been broken into on Dec. 19, 2015. When law enforcement arrived they found that the home and two outbuildings were ransacked. Authorities contacted the homeowner, who was out of town, but later returned to determine what was stolen. The homeowner reported that nearly 24 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition were missing. Authorities later identified Mathis as a suspect and interviewed him on Dec. 23. According to court records, Mathis admitted to making at least three trips to the house to steal guns and ammunition.