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Man Pleads Not Guilty to Breaking Into Kalispell Clinic

By Beacon Staff

There was standing room only in Flathead County District Court on Thursday for the arraignment of the man accused of breaking into a local clinic, stealing from it and vandalizing it.

Zachary Jordan Klundt, 24, appeared before Judge Ted Lympus on March 27, and his lawyer entered not guilty pleas to felony burglary, criminal mischief, theft and attempted burglary charges.

“That’s your plea, Mr. Klundt?” Lympus asked.

“Yes, your honor,” Klundt replied, in the only time he spoke during the hearing.

Members of Klundt’s family were present, while a large crowd of supporters also turned out for Susan Cahill, the owner of All Families Healthcare, a Kalispell clinic that provides a wide range of family practice and reproductive services and is also the valley’s only abortion provider. The clinic was broken into and vandalized March 4.

According to charging documents, responding officers found shattered glass from the window of the door to the office, and found that the interior of the building was damaged extensively.

This included damage to art, furniture, medical instruments and supplies, as well as filing cabinets. Additionally, officers found a yellow powder, later determined to be from a fire extinguisher, covering “almost everything.”

Further investigation into the basement of the First Avenue East building revealed damage to the main sewer line, the furnace and the water heater. Officers also found damage on the outside door leading to the basement, consistent with someone trying to break in from the outside.

Klundt was arrested on the evening of March 4 after allegedly attempting to break into Bob’s Bail Bonds on South Main Street in Kalispell. The business owner there called police to report that a man was trying to force his way into the business; officers reported finding Klundt about a block away from the office, and he matched the description given by the business owner.

When the officer approached Klundt, the officer noticed the butt of a handgun in Klundt’s jacket. The officer removed the gun, which he said was loaded with a full magazine and a spare magazine in the holster.

Officers reported observing cuts on Klundt’s hands and finding glass shards in his pocket, and about $915, believed to be stolen from the clinic, in another pocket. They also allegedly matched Klundt’s shoe tread pattern to that of the impression found at the clinic.

A search of Klundt’s residence turned up several boxes of medical supplies, along with medical documents, all of which were reported missing from the clinic.

Cahill has said that All Families Healthcare will remain closed at least through the summer, and she will make another decision about its future in the fall.

Hope Pregnancy Ministries, a Christian clinic that identifies itself as an alternative to abortion and which has ties to Klundt’s family, along with 40 Days for Life, a Christian organization that opposes abortions and routinely pickets in front of All Families Healthcare, have both denounced the violence used in the vandalism.

Klundt remains in custody at the Flathead County Detention Center, and his bail is set at $100,000. If convicted of all four felonies, he could face a maximum of 60 years in prison and a maximum of $200,000 in fines.

A trial date is scheduled for September.