Town Crier
Arson suspect held on $1M bond for 2021 Flathead Lake area fires
Published
2 years agoon
Posted By
AdminBy Keila Szpaller DAILY MONTANAN
LAKE COUNTY – Craig Allen McCrea of Ronan has been charged with felony arson and is being held on $1 million bond for starting fires with a torch that led to three blazes last summer, including one that destroyed more than a dozen homes near Flathead Lake, according to the Lake County Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office.
An affidavit filed in Lake County District Court and first reported by Newsy noted cellular data from a witness’ phone showed her being present at the location of the start of each burn “shortly before the fires were reported.” The charges against McCrea, 36, follow an investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribal Fire, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.
“The location of these fires are all remote, lightly traveled forest roads and the fires were all started in the middle of the night,” said the court document.
One such fire was the Jette Hill fire that started July 9, 2021, a burn that fire investigators suspected was caused by arson, the court document said. It said data from the witness’ phone put her at the “remote location where the fire was set” around the time it started. It also said fire investigators sent evidence, a drug straw, from the start of the fire to the State Crime Lab, and DNA was located on the mouthpiece of the straw.
Additionally, the witness’ phone showed her at the scene of another fire start, the Boulder 2800, on July 16, the affidavit said. It said just before she was at the fire start, video footage put her in “a vehicle known to be used by Craig McCrea,” the defendant.
The witness again was in the same vehicle shortly before midnight the night before the destructive July 31 Boulder 2700 fire started, the affidavit said: “Video obtained of the start of the fire shows a single set of headlights creep up the mountain road, switching back as it ascends to the scene of the fire start 15 minutes later. Phone data shows (the witness) was at the scene for over an hour before descending down the same switch back logging road. Video shows the headlights descend the road as the fire blows up behind them around 2:24 a.m.”
The court document noted the fire above Finley Point near Polson spread rapidly and “severe winds” pushed it down to Highway 35: “The fire quickly grew to over a thousand acres and eventually destroyed more than a dozen homes and many more outbuildings and structures.”
In an interview with a detective, the witness admitted she was at the scene of each fire start with McCrea, the affidavit said. It said she told the detective the “defendant would hop out of the car and start a fire with a torch.”
The witness said she did not know McCrea planned to start a fire, and the affidavit said she was afraid to report the fires “because the defendant was physically abusive to her.” According to the affidavit, the witness also said McCrea lived with his father, who at the time was employed by the Tribal Division of Fire.
A swab from the defendant showed a DNA match “to a likelihood of 1 in 425 trillion” with the sample from the evidence at the Jette Hill fire, the affidavit said.
In a brief telephone interview, Chief Deputy County Attorney James Lapotka said McCrea had already been in custody on an unrelated drug possession charge. Lapotka anticipated an initial appearance for McCrea would take place Wednesday.
“He’s in custody before this fire season,” Lapotka said.
McCrea is charged with three counts of felony arson. A person convicted of arson faces a penalty of a maximum 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $50,000, or both for each count, according to Montana Code Annotated. A judge also may order restitution.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
Time
(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716