Kalispell Man Accused in 2023 Murder of Homeless Man Pleads Not Guilty to Amended Charges
Kaleb Elijah Fleck appeared Oct. 2 in Flathead County District Court for an arraignment hearing on an amended deliberate homicide charge, which prosecutors revised to include aggravated assault as the manner of the victim’s death
By Maggie Dresser
A 20-year-old man accused of beating a homeless man to death outside of a Kalispell gas station last year pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a revised set of charging documents, called an “amended information,” which prosecutors submitted to further support their deliberate homicide case.
Kaleb Elijah Fleck entered the not guilty plea during an Oct. 2 arraignment hearing in Flathead County District Court before Judge Heidi Ulbricht. Fleck originally entered a not guilty plea to a felony count of deliberate homicide last year shortly after the alleged offense occurred. However, because the court granted prosecutors permission to file the amended information, Fleck appeared for his second arraignment hearing on Wednesday.
According to the amended deliberate homicide charges filed by Montana Department of Justice Assistant Attorneys General Selene Koepke and Caitlin Creighton, who are serving as special deputy county attorneys in the case, Fleck intentionally committed aggravated assault and, by fleeing the scene, caused the death of Scott Bryan, a 60-year-old homeless man.
Fleck is scheduled to stand trial on April 14, 2025. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 100 years in the Montana State Prison.
In response to the amended charges, Fleck’s defense attorney, Sean Hinchey, said during the hearing that he is in the process of filing a motion to challenge the constitutionality of the statute.
In July 2023, Fleck posted a $500,000 property bond and was released from the Flathead County Detention Center where he had been in custody since his arrest on June 25, 2023.
As part of his conditions of release, Fleck is required to wear a GPS monitor. He also cannot possess firearms or weapons, cannot possess or consume alcohol or drugs and must reside at a specified residence.
According to charging documents, Kalispell Police Department officers during the early morning hours of June 25, 2023 responded to a report of an assault at the Conoco gas station at the intersection of Meridian Road and Appleway Drive, where they found a man lying face down on the ground behind the building.
Law enforcement later identified the victim as Bryan, a homeless man who was bleeding profusely with significant facial and head injuries. Officers observed lacerations, exposed bone and an apparent crushed nasal cavity, according to court documents.
A witness at the scene showed officers an eight-second video of the incident, which allegedly showed Fleck and 18-year-old Wiley Meeker, of Somers. The camera pans between Fleck and Bryan’s motionless body on the ground, and Meeker can be heard saying, “You (expletive) that guy up dude,” with Fleck responding, “Step up. Step up (expletive).”
Meeker was also arrested on a pending deliberate homicide charge at the time of the incident but was released from the Flathead County Detention Center two days later.
Following the alleged assault, law enforcement located Meeker and Fleck at separate locations and interviewed them individually, records state. Both admitted they were at the gas station in Meeker’s truck, and both said an individual approached the vehicle. Fleck admitted to exiting the vehicle and assaulting Bryan. Meeker told law enforcement that he pulled Fleck away from Bryan before leaving the scene, records state.
After obtaining a warrant, officers searched the residence where Fleck was located after the incident and found a pair of boots with suspected blood stains in the garage, according to the affidavit.