breaking

Montana Man Sentenced to 41 Months for $182K Equipment Theft Across State Lines

A federal judge handed down a 41-month prison sentence June 23 to Eric Brandon Wright, 43, of Lakeside, Montana, for transporting stolen construction equipment across state lines. Wright also received three years of supervised release after pleading guilty in January 2026 to interstate transportation of stolen property. Wright stole $181,890 in equipment from RDO Rental Equipment in Kalispell during an August nighttime break-in, removing digging equipment, mulching machinery and a Towmaster trailer. He attached the trailer to an employee's vehicle and used it to transport the stolen goods. Police recovered the employee's vehicle days later, though a motorized wheelchair was missing from it. A Facebook tip alerted law enforcement in January 2024 that Wright was selling construction equipment online. Investigators tracked the equipment to a storage facility in Lewiston, Idaho, where Wright rented space. When initially questioned, Wright claimed he had purchased the equipment from someone in Missoula. Cell phone data and surveillance video placed Wright's truck at the RDO property during the theft. Officers recovered the Towmaster trailer at his uncle's residence in Dalton Gardens, Idaho, where the uncle was using an electric wheelchair resembling the one taken from the employee's vehicle. The Kalispell Police Department and FBI investigated the case, with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana prosecuting.