LOGAN — A warrant has been issued for a 49-year-old Montana man who was convicted of stealing construction equipment last year. Michael Jack Bothman was supposed to be sentenced Sept. 8 in 1st District Court but failed to appear.
According to court records, Bothman was temporarily booked Dec. 16, 2024, into the Cache County Jail. During a court appearance on July 7, 2025, in Logan’s 1st District Court, he pleaded “no contest” to theft, amended to a third-degree felony.
The plea meant Bothman conceded the alleged crime occurred without admitting guilt or offering a defense. It is still viewed as a guilty plea in court.
According to prosecutors, Cache County Sheriff’s deputies were called to investigate a burglary and theft case on July 31, 2024. The victim reported that they had approximately $97,000 worth of goods stolen from their property. The items included a small fork lift, valued at $85,000, and a large shipping container, valued around $7,500.
As deputies began gathering evidence in the case, they learned of similar shipping containers that were reportedly stolen in Idaho Falls. Brigham City Police officers also reported some stolen property by what was suspected to be the same suspects in Idaho.
Deputies concluded the string of burglaries and thefts in the area were committed by the same individual, due to the average citizen not knowing how to operate the specialized equipment that was stolen.
Law enforcement were able to obtain a warrant for Bothman’s cell phone records. They showed him in the Cache Valley area where the fork lift and shipping container were stolen, around the time they disappeared.
Deputies with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office obtained enough information to apply for a search warrant of Bothman’s residence in Rollins, Montana. They reportedly found the stolen fork lift in a shipping container on the property.
Bothman was out of jail on pretrial supervision, facing a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison. A no-bail warrant was issued for his arrest by Judge Spencer Walsh, after the Montana man didn’t appear for this month’s sentencing hearing.