A Montana man has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison after admitting to stealing nearly US$182,000 worth of construction equipment and transporting it across state lines.
Eric Brandon Wright, 43, of Lakeside, Montana, pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of stolen property. In addition to his prison sentence, he will spend three years on supervised release after completing his term.
The theft happened in August 2023 at RDO Rental Equipment in Kalispell. Prosecutors said Wright entered the property overnight and left with several pieces of heavy equipment, including digging and mulching machinery, along with a Towmaster trailer.
Investigators said he used one of the company’s employee vehicles to pull the trailer away from the site. The vehicle was recovered a few days later, but an electric wheelchair that had been inside was reported missing.
For several months, the case remained unsolved until investigators received a tip from a member of the public, who reported seeing construction equipment believed to be stolen being offered for sale on Facebook. The information led detectives to a storage facility in Lewiston, Idaho, where Wright had rented a storage unit.
When interviewed by police, Wright denied stealing the equipment. Instead, he claimed he had purchased it from someone else in Missoula.
But investigators said the evidence painted a different picture. Cell phone location records and surveillance footage placed Wright’s truck at the rental yard on the night of the theft. In a separate investigation, officers also located the stolen Towmaster trailer at the home of one of Wright’s relatives in Idaho.
The investigation was carried out by the Kalispell Police Department and the FBI. Prosecutors said the case came together through a combination of digital evidence, security footage and information provided by the public, ultimately leading to Wright’s conviction.
