Man Who Drove Stolen Car Into River During Police Chase Received Only Misdemeanor Charges

On Wednesday, Missoula Police arrested 44-year-old Corey Kendall after he fled from police in a stolen car and then crashed the vehicle in the river. Despite the chase and the crash though, Kendall didn’t receive any felony charges for the incident.

"Mr. Kendall was originally arrested for eluding or fleeing from a peace officer, careless driving, and possession of a stolen vehicle... all of those are misdemeanors, including the possession of a stolen vehicle," said  Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh."

Even if police could prove that Kendall had stolen the ’92 Honda he was in, they still couldn’t charge him with felony theft under Montana law.

"For theft, misdemeanor and felony are divided by the actual dollar value of the property," Welsh said. "Right now, state law says that anything valued over $1,500 is a felony, but less than that is a misdemeanor. In this case, the car that Mr. Kendall is accused of stealing is valued at 1,200."

Kendall has had several run-ins with law enforcement and has tried to run away from them at least twice.  He led police on another high-speed chase back in May, before that he was accused of giving meth to and having sexual relations with an underage girl.