UPDATE: 10:16 a.m. - Sept. 13, 2021
KALISPELL - A standoff with law enforcement that began early Monday on Whitefish Stage Road in Kalispell has ended peacefully.
The suspect has been taken into custody.
Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino says the man has been identified as Kalispell resident Ryan LaSalle who was released from federal prison five months ago.
Lasalle had been sentenced to prison in 2010 on criminal distribution of dangerous drugs charges.
Sheriff Heino said the Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team began negotiations which lasted roughly an hour before LaSalle surrendered peacefully.
He said countless hours of SWAT Team training and de-escalation methods helped lead to Monday’s peaceful resolution.
“Again, this is just one of these times when it shows the successes of the training that they’ve had to be able to perform at this level,” said Heino.
(first report: 9:47 a.m. - Sept.13, 2021)
The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team along with different law enforcement agencies are responding to a barricaded suspect in a trailer at 1115 Whitefish Stage Road in Kalispell.
Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino tells MTN News that a call came in around 6 a.m. Monday after the suspect hit a trailer with his vehicle and ran inside the residence.
Sheriff Heino said the suspect then fled the trailer and drove his car into a vehicle before barricading himself inside his own trailer.
Heino said it is not known at this time if the suspect is armed with weapons. He added the suspect is currently on federal and state probation.
The public is asked to avoid the area while negotiations continue.
