Plea deals offered for casino robbery
The court cases for four Flathead residents are winding down in connection with their roles in the robbery of a casino on U.S. 2 south of Columbia Falls.
According to court records, county dispatchers were alerted to a robbery at the Glacier Gold Casino on Nov. 20, 2010, when a panic alarm was sounded. Casino employee Darah Hughes initially told deputies the robber had an object in her sweatshirt pocket that resembled a pistol and forced her to a back room where about $4,800 was taken.
A subsequent interview with Hughes revealed some discrepancies. Two customers had said they saw a woman come into the casino and speak with Hughes prior to the robbery. Later, casino owner Greg Bauska told deputies he had been tipped off that Dustin Payne and Katelynn Hayes were involved.
Video from a surveillance camera showed a white four-door Chevrolet pickup in the parking lot at the time of the robbery with a vanity license plate that read "DPAYNE." The pickup was located, and Payne, 17, who lived with his grandmother in Kalispell, was interviewed.
Payne allegedly admitted being at the casino at the time of the robbery and splitting $4,826 between himself, Hughes, 22, of Kalispell, Hayes, 19, of Bigfork, and Hayes' brother Darren Hayes, 20, also of Bigfork.
In an interview with a sheriff's detective, Katelynn Hayes allegedly admitted planning the robbery with her brother and carrying a BB gun into the casino to stage the robbery. Hughes was Darren Hayes' boyfriend at the time.
Hughes, Darren Hayes and Payne were charged with felony accountability for theft and faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Katelynn Hayes was charged with felony theft and also faced up to 10 years. Darren Hayes was also facing a felony forgery common scheme charge stemming from seven bad checks totaling $3,850 that he had cashed at several Glacier Bank branches.
On Nov. 24, 2010, four days after the Glacier Gold Casino robbery, the county attorney's office recommended a three-year deferred sentence, restitution to the bank and a $1,000 fine for the forgery case. Flathead County District Court Judge Katherine Curtis sentenced Darren Hayes per the plea agreement on Feb. 24 this year. For his role in the casino robbery, District Court Judge Ted Lympus sentenced Darren Hayes on Aug. 4 to three years with the Department of Corrections, all suspended and concurrent with the prior sentence, along with restitution to the casino.
Meanwhile, Katelynn Hayes faced a charge of felony accountability for theft for her role in the theft of five wheels and tires from Eisinger Motors in Kalispell. Allegedly assisting her in the crime was Payne and two others. The county attorney's office rolled her two cases into one and offered her a plea deal with three years deferred for each charge served concurrently. She pleaded guilty per the plea agreement on June 9 and awaits sentencing.
Hughes received a plea offer with a three-year deferred sentence for the casino robbery. She pleaded guilty per the plea agreement on July 7 and awaits sentencing.
In addition to charges for his role in the Eisinger Motors theft and the casino robbery, Payne also was a suspect in the theft of a subwoofer at Mark Weed Auto Sales in Kalispell, two snowmobiles from a Kalispell residence, a camper trailer from another Kalispell residence and a tonneau pickup cover from Don K Chevrolet in Whitefish, for a total value of more than $5,000. The county attorney's office rolled the various thefts into a single charge of felony theft common scheme. Payne's change of plea hearing is scheduled for later in August.