Pair arraigned in hotel theft

The Daily Inter Lake

A Kalispell man and a Columbia Falls woman have pleaded innocent to the April hold-up of a Whitefish hotel.

Derrick Lee Irvine, 19, pleaded not guilty to robbery and Nicole Chappel, 18, pleaded not guilty to accountability to robbery during their arraignments Thursday in Flathead County District Court.

Whitefish police responded to the Holiday Inn Express, located on U.S. 93 south of downtown, about 11 p.m. on April 7 after Irvine allegedly confronted the night clerk with what was described as a bomb or bear spray before escaping with more than $400 from the cash register.

Irvine allegedly told Chappel, a hotel employee at the time, that he was going to rob the hotel's night clerk after she showed him a large amount of cash in the money drawer.

Chappel, who reportedly owed Irvine money, told Irvine he would have to come to the hotel and take the cash after she finished her shift, according to court documents.

The lone employee behind the front desk was not injured.

Robbery comes with a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.