Two more sentenced for Happy Valley home invasion
Two of the four men charged in connection with a Happy Valley home invasion last year were sentenced on Nov. 8 in federal court in Missoula.
U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen sentenced Steven Acton, 27, formerly of Whitefish, to 102 months in prison, $4,401 in restitution and five years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty to robbery affecting commerce and use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.
Acton allegedly pointed a laser-sighted handgun at a 16-year-old girl in the Happy Valley home during the robbery. A safe filled with guns was stolen from the home.
Acton was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service on July 19, 2011. He was found in possession of an assault rifle in a Renton, Wash., home with an illegal marijuana grow operation.
Christensen also sentenced Kevin Gaethle, 30, of Kalispell, to 51 months in prison, $4,401 in restitution and three years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty to robbery affecting commerce.
Gaethle had the safe with him in Columbia Falls when arrested the day after the robbery. As reconstructed by investigators, Gaethle knew the owner of the Happy Valley home and knew he had a safe containing guns. He waited outside the home during the robbery.
A third man connected to the robbery, Bradley Thompson, 26, of Kalispell, was arrested when he was caught allegedly shoplifting at Wal-Mart in Kalispell. He was in the Happy Valley home with Acton at the time of the robbery. Thompson pleaded not guilty in federal court in Missoula on April 12 and has not been sentenced.
The fourth man connected to the robbery, Kelly Campbell, 23, of Columbia Falls, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy on Oct. 24 to 70 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Campbell was arrested during a traffic stop the day after the robbery. A search of his vehicle uncovered some of the stolen firearms. He admitted to officers that he knew about the robbery and planned to take the guns to Portland, Ore., where he’d either purchase drugs or trade the firearms for heroin.