Whitefish man involved in standoff jailed on other charges
Jun. 23—A Whitefish man involved in a recent standoff with police is locked up on unrelated charges from an alleged incident earlier this year.
Gregory Leonard Gustafson, 58, is charged with felony criminal mischief by the Flathead County Attorney's Office. He also was cited by the Whitefish Police Department for his alleged role in the standoff.
In the mischief case, according to the charging document, a woman reported her son had backed into one of Gustafson's vehicles, causing $1,200 in damages. Both parties agreed to a payment plan to cover the cost of damages to Gustafson's vehicle. The woman said they have been unable to make recent payments due to unexpected hospital bills. She said Gustafson became angry and began sending threatening text messages to her and her son.
On Jan. 30, another woman parked her raft and trailer in the victim's backyard. According to the complaint, the victim then said she received a text from Gustafson which read "Snowmobile trip? Boating? I've made that difficult for you to achieve. Don't think tires can be fixed and I'm sure the boat is not something that can be patched. Hahahaha. You picked the wrong person to attempt to (profanity) and I'm just getting started. Have a nice day (profanity)!"
The victim then went outside and found the raft had large cuts in it and the trailer tire sidewalls were cut. She also discovered both tires of her snowmobile trailer were cut.
According to a Whitefish police officer investigating the incident, the victim estimated the damage to the boat and tires was about $2,000.
On Jan. 31, a deputy with the Sheriff's Office responded to a mischief call. The victim said a trailer on his property had the tires slashed out and the windows in all of the garage doors were broken. The deputy saw broken glass and several dozen drops of blood at the scene.
The victim said Gustafson was a former tenant and had allegedly engaged in similar conduct in the past.
When an officer spoke to Gustafson, he noted the accused had an injury to his left hand requiring bandages. The officer also saw a tomahawk in Gustafson's vehicle.
A few days later, on Feb. 3, another Whitefish resident said her dogs' barking awoke her at about 4:30 a.m. and she saw Gustafson walking down her driveway. She also reported one of her vehicle tires was slashed.
Whitefish police officers then searched Gustafson's room at a hotel he was staying in and found a tomahawk and some knives.
Gustafson eventually was jailed and then posted bail on Feb. 9.
Later, according to court documents, Gustafson failed to take a breath test on May 10.
Then, on June 4, according to a citation from the Whitefish Police Department, Gustafson was told he was under arrest due to an active warrant.
Police report Gustafson allegedly locked himself inside his camper trailer and refused to come out. He allegedly began yelling obscenities and said he was getting his guns.
According to the citation, after about 45 minutes Gustafson stepped out of the camper and was subdued with a Taser after he allegedly tried to go back inside the trailer.
Gustafson was jailed from June 4-10 before posting $30,000 bail.
His next court appearance is set for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 14.
Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.
