Jury convicts Libby man in motel robbery

One of three men charged with robbing two Missoula men on Jan. 15 was found guilty by a jury in Flathead County District Court last week.

Kyle Kolb, 20, of Libby, faced a charge of robbery with bodily injury after Whitefish police responded to a report of a robbery at the Super 8 motel. He faces up to 40 years in prison.

According to statements the two victims gave Whitefish police, they came to Whitefish to ski and met the three suspects in a downtown bar. The Missoula men accepted a ride to the Super 8 motel and then invited the three suspects to their room for a drink.

Once in the room, according to police, the victims were attacked and beaten. One of the suspects allegedly produced a pistol and demanded money. One of the victims was able to provide police with the license plate number and a description of the get-away vehicle.

Columbia Falls police and sheriff's deputies located the vehicle near the Canyon and arrested the three.

The other two men charged in the incident still await trial. Brett Johnson, 21, of Whitefish, and Jacob Hogsett, 21, of Libby, both face charges of accountability, robbery with bodily injury and robbery with fear of immediate bodily injury.

Kolb received a deferred sentence last year in Lincoln County for distribution of dangerous drugs. Johnson and Hogsett were each arrested in separate incidents in 2003 and charged with felony robbery.

At trial, Kolb's attorney, Scott Hilderman, claimed the incident in the Super 8 motel room was not a premeditated robbery but a drug deal that went bad.

One of the victims had used an automatic-teller machine to withdraw $200 before the five reached the Super 8 motel, allegedly to purchase marijuana.

But the jury was not convinced with Hilderman's account. District Court Judge Katherine Curtis is scheduled to sentence Kolb on Aug. 24. Hilderman says he will appeal the conviction.