Man awaits sentencing on string of charges
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Kyro Swimmer
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District Judge James Manley has rejected a plea agreement that would have resulted in a Polson man being committed to the Montana Department of Corrections for a total of 10 years with five years suspended on a series of vehicle thefts and a burglary.
Kyro Antonio Swimmer, 22, entered a plea of guilty at District Court in Polson on Aug. 12, 2020, to one count of burglary for breaking into the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ forestry building in Ronan on Nov. 29, 2019, and aiding in the theft of two chainsaws. He pled guilty to stealing a red Chevy Cruz on Oct. 3, 2018.
He also pled guilty to the theft of a Chevy truck on Jan. 3, 2020; criminal mischief for destroying private property on Feb. 10, 2020; the theft of a one-ton Dodge on March 25, 2020, along with its gooseneck trailer; the thefts of a 2008 Pontiac G6 and a Subaru Legacy in May of 2020.
During the change of plea hearing, Judge James Manley told Swimmer “nobody likes a thief” and warned Swimmer that he was not bound by the plea agreement.
Swimmer absconded from supervision and allegedly committed a new theft. He entered a plea of not guilty at District Court in Polson on July 28 to the new theft charge. According to court records, on April 29, an employee with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Fish and Game Department called law enforcement to report that someone had just stolen an Arctic Cat 4-wheeler from the CSKT compound on 6th Avenue East in Polson. An Officer with the Polson Police Department was able to identify Swimmer as the suspect after viewing a surveillance video at the compound. Swimmer was located a short time later and arrested. The Arctic Cat was recovered.
Manley set a trial date of Jan. 3 on the new theft charge and continued sentencing on the other matters for Aug. 11. Manley said he wants Swimmer to serve two years in Montana State Prison on each of the theft charges.
