Barkus sentenced for 2009 boat crash
Former Sen. Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell, was sentenced in Flathead County District Court on Jan. 20 for his role in the Aug. 27, 2009, boat crash in Flathead Lake.
Malta District Judge John McKeon gave Barkus, 64, a four-year deferred sentence and ordered him to pay $29,000 in fines and restitution for criminal endangerment. Barkus also will be placed on supervised probation.
McKeon rejected a more lenient plea agreement reached by Barkus’ attorney Todd Glazier and county attorney Ed Corrigan that called for a three-year deferred sentence and $4,000 in restitution with unsupervised probation.
McKeon was appointed to oversee Barkus’ case after Flathead County’s three district court judges removed themselves to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
Barkus pleaded no contest to a felony charge of criminal endangerment on Dec. 2, 2010. He initially was charged with criminal endangerment and two counts of negligent vehicular assault. The latter two charges were dismissed at sentencing.
Five people were injured in the crash. U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg’s ankle was broken; Rehberg’s former state director, Dustin Frost, was left in a coma for more than a week; Rehberg’s chief of staff, Kristin Smith, sustained multiple broken bones; Barkus’ pelvis was broken; and Barkus’ wife, Kathy, also was injured.
Accident reconstruction experts estimate Barkus was driving his speedboat at 40 mph with no headlights when it ran up on the rocky shoreline just south of Wayfarers State Park, near Bigfork. Prosecutors allege Barkus’ blood alcohol level was 0.16 percent — twice the legal limit for driving — about 1 hour and 45 minutes after the 10:20 p.m. crash and 0.12 percent about four hours after the crash.
Glazier, however, maintains that alcohol consumption was not a factor in the boat crash, citing accounts of victims and those present before the crash.
“There was no indication Greg was intoxicated that night,” Glazier said at the sentencing hearing.
Before delivering the sentence, McKeon summarized several letters sent in support of Barkus. He characterized Barkus as a dedicated public servant who had been cooperative and respectful to law enforcement officials and prosecutors.
The sentence “does punish him, recognizing the serious degree of harm that was caused,” McKeon said. “It also holds him accountable.”
McKeon also referred to Barkus’ past driving record, which included speeding tickets in 1998 and 2000 and a conviction for reckless driving in 2004. McKeon said he was concerned that each of the charges was the result of Barkus traveling at an excessive speed.
“There is reason to be concerned that there could be a pattern, whether it be by car or boat,” McKeon said.
Barkus initially was charged with DUI in the 2004 case after he was stopped by a Montana Highway Patrol trooper for speeding near Somers. Barkus later pleaded guilty in Lake County Justice Court to a lesser charge of reckless driving. He was fined and ordered to attend a driving-and-alcohol course.
Barkus’ insurance company has paid for the medical bills of the victims, probation officer Keely Absalonson told the court, adding the costs exceeded the $500,000 policy.
Barkus, who took legislative office in 2003, recently completed his final term in the Montana Senate. In 2008, he retired as an executive from D.A. Davidson after a career in finance and banking. He said he hopes to spend his probation in both Kalispell and California, where he has a second home.