US EditionKalispell man sentenced to 40 years for beating death of homeless man
- In Kalispell, on June 25, 2023, Kaleb E. Fleck, age 20, beat 60-year-old Scott Bryan to death in front of a gas station around 2:30 a.m., and Bryan was pronounced dead at Logan Health about a half-hour later.
- The beating occurred five months after Flathead commissioners Randy Brodehl, Brad Abell, and Pam Holmquist accused social service providers of contributing to the rise in the local unhoused population, stating, "It is our hope that our community will be unified in rejecting all things that empower the homeless lifestyle" in a Flathead Beacon publication on January 21, and after the Kalispell City Council sought to revoke the winter-only homeless shelter's permit in 2024.
- Fleck and his friend arrived at a Kalispell gas station, where Bryan approached the vehicle and, according to court documents, Fleck admitted to exiting the vehicle and assaulting Bryan, who was found face down and bleeding behind the gas station, while a witness showed law enforcement a video.
- Fleck pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide under a plea deal, and during the sentencing hearing, Sean O'Neill, a local social worker who knew and helped Bryan, testified that Scott was bruised and battered from being assaulted earlier in the week and was scared he wouldn't make it through another attack, while Fleck's attorneys sought to paint Bryan as having a history of violence and drug use, suggesting his life mattered less.
- Fleck was sentenced to 40 years in prison with 10 years of probation by Flathead County District Judge Heidi Ulbricht, who stated, "Kaleb Fleck brutally assaulted Scott Bryan, causing an open skull fracture and part of a broken nasal bone protruding from his forehead," while Fleck expressed remorse, saying, "Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it, I’m super sorry, and I wish it had never happened," and Bryan's family testified, describing him as kind but troubled, with his uncle Dave Torska stating, 'No one deserves to die that way.
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Kalispell man sentenced for beating, killing houseless man at gas station
UPDATE: April 1, 2025 at 10:22 a.m.
·Missoula, United States
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