Staudenmayer awaits sentencing
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A Bigfork man is facing a maximum 10 years in prison for his participation in a storage unit theft involving over $1,000,000 in rare coins and other items.
Robert Earl Staudenmayer, 34, entered into a plea agreement at District Court in Polson on Dec. 16 that will dismiss, at sentencing, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with witnesses or informants.
Staudenmayer acknowledged he could be held responsible for restitution of up to a million dollars. His co-defendants have already been adjudicated for their roles in the matter. Richard Gordon, 51, was given 10 years of prison time with seven years suspended for theft and 10 years with seven years suspended for money laundering. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $1, 038,035. Joshua Wilson, 40, of Kalispell, was sentenced to prison for 10 years with six years suspended for one count of theft.
Staudenmayer entered an Alford plea to felony theft as part of his plea agreement. An Alford plea means a defendant agrees the state has sufficient evidence to gain a conviction at trial without admitting guilt. It carries the same outcome as a conviction.
The owner of the storage unit, a man who served as a pilot during WWII, reported the burglary in June of 2018. He said he had not checked it since September of 2017. District Judge James Manley set sentencing for Dec. 30.
Staudenmayer was convicted, at trial, of bail jumping for missing court appearances in the storage unit matters. Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher, who presided over his trial, sentenced Staudenmayer on Sept. 17 to the maximum 10 years in the Montana State Prison.
Manley warned Staudenmayer that he could get the full 10 years on the theft conviction.
