WHITEFISH — The Whitefish Police Department arrested a man with active felony warrants from two states during a traffic stop on January 21, 2026, at 11:13 p.m. in the 700 block of Wisconsin Avenue.
An officer observed the suspect vehicle making an illegal left-hand turn, driving in the oncoming lane of travel and noted that the license plate was completely obstructed, prompting the traffic stop.
During initial contact, the driver was identified by a Texas driver's license as Mason Lockhart. Following standard protocols, the officer conducted a driver's license query through the Criminal Justice Information Network (CJIN), which revealed that Lockhart had two active out-of-state felony arrest warrants from California and Texas.
The California warrant was confirmed as extraditable for "4 counts of lewd act with child under 14 years of age" along with multiple aggravating factors requiring a mandatory appearance before the court and bail in the amount of $4 million. Texas warrant information had not been obtained by the department at the time of the media release.
The Whitefish Police Department credited the officer's proactive policing efforts for contacting the suspect for the observed traffic offenses and taking the suspect into custody on the out-of-state felony arrest warrants.
Lockhart is currently being held at the Flathead County Detention Center.
The Whitefish Police Department stated that this press release is intended to be released in its entirety, noting that any variation or modification is not supported by facts and is done without the department's consent.
