Man charged in street sweeper theft sentenced

BILLINGS (AP) – A former Butte Pre-release Center inmate who faces charges alleging he stole a pickup truck fitted with a street sweeper with plans to drive to Mexico has been sentenced to five years on drug possession and trespassing charges.

District Judge Rod Souza sentenced Matthew Brandon Hawkins on Thursday in Billings.

Yellowstone County deputies investigated the report of a suspicious vehicle stuck in an irrigation ditch last September and found Hawkins hiding in a nearby building. Court records say Hawkins told officers he planned to drive the pickup to Mexico.

Hawkins, who had been working for a parking lot maintenance company in Butte, still faces charges of escape and theft in Butte-Silver Bow County.

State records indicate Hawkins has burglary, theft and drug convictions dating back to 1985.