City employee charged with heisting coins from water-filling station

A Ronan man is accused of stealing coins from the City of Ronan’s coin-operated water filling station. Christopher Alan Atkinson, 46, entered a plea of not guilty in District Court in Polson June 18 to felony theft.

According to charging documents, in February, the Ronan city clerk determined money had not been deposited from the coin-operated water system since November 2022. It was Atkinson’s job to do this task.

Ronan’s Police Chief Robert Jacobson and Sgt. Brandon Smith set up a surveillance camera that appears to show images of Atkinson collecting the coins on two occasions without delivering them to City Hall. When confronted about the coins, Atkinson initially denied taking them.

When told about the surveillance camera, he admitted to taking $400, but later said it was more like $2,000. The clerk determined that during a similar time frame, the city would collect about $4,500.

Judge Molly Owen set the case for trial Feb. 1. Atkinson is at liberty on his own recognizance.