An 18-year-old Kalispell man has been accused of stealing a gun from the scene of an apparent suicide earlier this year.
Jacob Uhde pleaded not guilty to felony tampering with evidence at an arraignment on Sept. 13 in Flathead County District Court before Judge Heidi Ulbricht. Uhde will stand trial in February 2018.
According to court records, on April 7, Uhde and a small group of people were walking on the beach near the Lakeside boat launch when they came upon a woman who was unconscious with a self-inflected gunshot wound. Witnesses also said they saw a gun near the woman.
Uhde began to administer CPR on the woman while someone else called law enforcement. Uhde left the scene prior to law enforcement’s arrival. The woman was transported to the hospital where she later died.
Police searched the scene for both Uhde and the gun but could not find either.
Law enforcement talked to Uhde the following day. During that interview, he said that he had administered CPR to the woman on the beach but left the scene early because he “didn’t want to be around the cops.” He denied ever seeing a gun or taking it.
In May, law enforcement discovered the gun used in the apparent suicide in possession of another person during the course of a different investigation. The owner of the gun told police that it had been a gift from a friend. Law enforcement interviewed the friend, who said he had purchased it from another person who had purchased it from Uhde in mid-April.
If convicted, Uhde could face up to 10 years in prison.