Trial set for Big Arm burglary suspect
Kenneth Gravelle (Jeff Smith photo)
A Big Arm man is accused of breaking into an RV as it was parked at a campsite in Big Arm.
Kenneth Ambrose Gravelle, 40, entered a plea of not guilty in Polson District Court Oct. 18 to felony charges of burglary and criminal mischief.
According to court records, on Aug. 25, a man contacted law enforcement to report his neighbor’s RV had been broken into at the Big Arm Resort. The reporting party indicated that a man on a “Harley” with saddlebags parked in the driveway leading to where the RV was parked. He said he saw a man on the steps to the RV and its door was slightly ajar.
When asked what he was doing, the man replied that he was from Canada and was looking for a friend.
The reporting party’s wife told law enforcement that she saw several bottles of alcohol in the saddle bags on the Harley. She tried to grab one of the bottles and accused him of taking the bottle from the RV. She said the man grabbed the bottle back from her and claimed it was his. The reporting party took photos of the man and his Harley.
Law enforcement documented damage to the RV’s door. Managers at the resort were able to review the incident on surveillance cameras. The man in the surveillance images is the same man seen in the photos taken by the reporting party as distinguished by a “distinctive tattoo” on his hand.
A Harley Davidson matching the description of the burglary suspect’s motorcycle was located several days later at an auto repair shop in Polson. Gravelle was located sleeping inside a vehicle nearby with the same identifying tattoo on his hand.
The damage to the RV’s door was estimated at $2,500 - $3,000.
Gravelle was already facing a charge involving the theft of an 2010 Audi Q5 and drug possession charges. The state withdrew from a plea agreement in that case as a result of the new charges.
Gravelle was already facing a theft charge involving the theft of a 2010 Audi Q5 and drug possession charges. The state withdrew from a plea agreement in that case as a result of the new charges.
Judge Molly Owen set this new case for trial April 1. Gravelle remains in the Lake County Jail with bond totaling $50,000.