DUI homicide suspect posts $500,000 bail

An Arizona man accused of killing a Kalispell resident while allegedly driving drunk is free after posting bail.

Thomas Owen Lefevre, 20, of Tucson, Arizona, was lodged in the Flathead County Jail on $500,000 bail before Greg and Robin Lefevre and Robert Martin Calfee III agreed to act as sureties after they put up land and property they own in Lake County, according to court documents filed June 30 in Flathead District Court.

Court documents indicate the land consists of more than 150 acres and contains two homes. The estimated value of the property is more than $1.1 million.

If Lefevre fails to appear for any required court proceedings and the bond is ordered forfeited by the court, the three owners would be required to grant, bargain, sell and convey to Flathead County their interest in the land equal to the amount of the bond.

Lefevre must follow several conditions of release. Violating any one of the following conditions will result in his arrest, revocation of release and filing of criminal charges for bail jumping or criminal contempt.

Lefevre isn’t allowed to drink alcohol or enter bars, taverns or casinos. He is not allowed to have any contact with witnesses and he must wear an electronic monitoring device.

The man who died, Robert Dale Meier, 59, of Kalispell, was asleep in a bedroom at his Rocky Cliff Drive residence when an eastbound 2011 Chevrolet Silverado reportedly failed to negotiate a curve and drove off the roadway, striking the house and entering the bedroom, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.

Charging documents indicate Montana Highway Patrol troopers were called to the home at about 11:36 p.m. Saturday, June 20, after the man’s wife said her husband was asleep in bed when a truck drove into the house.

Troopers saw the truck inside the home and Meier’s wife said he was somewhere under the debris. One trooper saw a young man sitting on a chair in the living room, busy on his cellphone and obviously impaired, according to court documents.

The man in the chair was identified as Lefevre and he allegedly had an odor of alcohol from his breath and couldn’t perform simple tasks when instructed to do so by the trooper. After being taken into custody and to the Flathead County Jail, Lefevre allegedly had trouble getting out of the patrol vehicle, stumbled and struggled with walking straight.

The trooper asked him to perform several field sobriety tests, but Lefevre allegedly failed to do because of his extreme intoxication.

After having his rights read to him, Lefevre allegedly agreed to give a blood draw. It was sent to the Montana State Crime Lab.

After returning to the jail, Lefevre was read his rights again and allegedly agreed to speak with a trooper. The accused said he had consumed alcohol and was the only driver of the truck.

Meier was transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center where he died of his injuries.

Lefevre is facing a maximum term of 30 years in the Montana State Prison. Lefevre is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 9, in front of District Judge Amy Eddy,

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com