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Police: MSU football players, students bust into mayor's home
By TED SULLIVAN and CAMDEN EASTERLING Chronicle Staff Writer
Two incoming freshman Montana State University football players and two other men burst into Bozeman Mayor Jeff Krauss' home early Monday morning in an attempt to escape police.
The men, who police believed had been egging houses, were running from police at about 3:45 a.m. when they crawled through a basement window into Krauss' southside Park Place home, Bozeman Police Sgt. Steve Crawford said Tuesday.
The commotion woke Krauss up, and he went downstairs to find several people running through his house, he said.
“There were only two coherent things I heard, 'Stay down,' and ‘Running north,'” Krauss said. “It was pretty startling."
In the darkness, the mayor said, he couldn't tell who was speaking or who was running through his house. He later found out the speaker had been Bozeman Police Officer Cody Anderson, who was pursuing the men.
MSU freshman football players Clay Bignell, 19, of Avon, and Daniel Ogden, 18, of Kalispell, were charged with misdemeanors in connection with the incident, Bozeman Deputy Police Chief Mark Lachapelle said.
Three other freshman students - Robert Schmechel, 18, and Tyler Haven, 18, both of Kalispell, and Miles Wahrer, 18, of Bozeman - also face misdemeanor charges.
Allen Yarnell, MSU's vice president of student affairs, could not be reached for comment.
According to court records, Bignell appeared in Bozeman City Court Monday and pleaded guilty to criminal trespassing and obstructing a peace officer, both misdemeanors.
City Judge Karl Seel sentenced him to a $620 fine, 20 hours of community service and gave him credit for the 18 hours he had already served in Gallatin County's jail, according to court records.
Ogden, Schmechel and Haven were cited with obstructing a peace officer, according to court records, and Wahrer, who was not running from police, was cited with minor in possession of alcohol and unlawful transaction with children. None of those four has had an initial court appearance.
Between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Monday, police responded to numerous complaints from south Bozeman residents about egging and noise, Crawford said.
At about 3:45 a.m., police chased four men into Krauss' home. Bignell was arrested and taken to jail, but the other men got away, Crawford said.
After further investigation, the others were cited later in the day.
During the chase, the men also broke two fences and damaged an outdoor shed, Crawford said. Five separate homeowners told police they found property damage to their homes.
On Monday a young man stopped at Krauss' house two times, asking if he could come inside to look for a cell phone that “his buddy” had lost, Krauss said.
The family turned him down the first time and called 911 the second time.
The mayor applauded the police response and said he hoped the arrests sent a message to would-be criminals that “if you run through somebody's house, you're going to be prosecuted.”
Entering someone's home is not to be taken lightly, he said. Plus, chasing down people for egging homes takes up valuable police resources, Krauss added.
By TED SULLIVAN and CAMDEN EASTERLING Chronicle Staff Writer
Two incoming freshman Montana State University football players and two other men burst into Bozeman Mayor Jeff Krauss' home early Monday morning in an attempt to escape police.
The men, who police believed had been egging houses, were running from police at about 3:45 a.m. when they crawled through a basement window into Krauss' southside Park Place home, Bozeman Police Sgt. Steve Crawford said Tuesday.
The commotion woke Krauss up, and he went downstairs to find several people running through his house, he said.
“There were only two coherent things I heard, 'Stay down,' and ‘Running north,'” Krauss said. “It was pretty startling."
In the darkness, the mayor said, he couldn't tell who was speaking or who was running through his house. He later found out the speaker had been Bozeman Police Officer Cody Anderson, who was pursuing the men.
MSU freshman football players Clay Bignell, 19, of Avon, and Daniel Ogden, 18, of Kalispell, were charged with misdemeanors in connection with the incident, Bozeman Deputy Police Chief Mark Lachapelle said.
Three other freshman students - Robert Schmechel, 18, and Tyler Haven, 18, both of Kalispell, and Miles Wahrer, 18, of Bozeman - also face misdemeanor charges.
Allen Yarnell, MSU's vice president of student affairs, could not be reached for comment.
According to court records, Bignell appeared in Bozeman City Court Monday and pleaded guilty to criminal trespassing and obstructing a peace officer, both misdemeanors.
City Judge Karl Seel sentenced him to a $620 fine, 20 hours of community service and gave him credit for the 18 hours he had already served in Gallatin County's jail, according to court records.
Ogden, Schmechel and Haven were cited with obstructing a peace officer, according to court records, and Wahrer, who was not running from police, was cited with minor in possession of alcohol and unlawful transaction with children. None of those four has had an initial court appearance.
Between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Monday, police responded to numerous complaints from south Bozeman residents about egging and noise, Crawford said.
At about 3:45 a.m., police chased four men into Krauss' home. Bignell was arrested and taken to jail, but the other men got away, Crawford said.
After further investigation, the others were cited later in the day.
During the chase, the men also broke two fences and damaged an outdoor shed, Crawford said. Five separate homeowners told police they found property damage to their homes.
On Monday a young man stopped at Krauss' house two times, asking if he could come inside to look for a cell phone that “his buddy” had lost, Krauss said.
The family turned him down the first time and called 911 the second time.
The mayor applauded the police response and said he hoped the arrests sent a message to would-be criminals that “if you run through somebody's house, you're going to be prosecuted.”
Entering someone's home is not to be taken lightly, he said. Plus, chasing down people for egging homes takes up valuable police resources, Krauss added.
