BILLINGS, Mont. – A man believed to have killed four people at a Montana bar, evaded capture for a week while being pursued by hundreds of law enforcement officers through nearby mountainous terrain. He now faces charges of four counts of murder, as per court documents.
Defendant Michael Paul Brown lived next door to The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, where a bartender and three patrons were shot and killed Aug. 1.
Authorities have not commented on a potential motive for the 45-year-old former soldier. His niece has said Brown long struggled with mental illness.
The charges against Brown were made public on a court website Saturday after a state judge had initially placed the case under seal. Specific details about the charges were not immediately available.
Following the shooting incident, Brown reportedly stole a truck and abandoned it just a few miles outside of town, near the spot where he was ultimately captured.
Brown evaded capture by hiding in surrounding forests, changing his location while helicopters and drones patrolled the skies and officers, along with search dogs, combed the ground, according to authorities. Eventually, the extensive search effort drove him into a scarcely populated area near a state highway.
Brown was captured on Aug. 8 inside an unoccupied structure near a state highway.
Investigators also are examining whether he had any contact with individuals or property owners who might have helped him while he was on the run.
State Department of Justice spokesperson Chase Scheuer said Friday that the probe is ongoing.
Brown is slated to have his first district court appearance on September 3. He is currently held on a $2 million bail and his attorney, Walter Hennessey, did not immediately respond to calls on Friday or Saturday.
Anaconda, a community of around 9,000 people located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Butte, was originally established by a copper tycoon in the late 1800s. The town, surrounded by mountains, is overlooked by a dormant smelter stack.
The owner of The Owl Bar has said Brown patronized it over the past several decades, but he was not aware of any conflicts between the suspect and victims.
A conviction for murder, known in Montana as deliberate homicide, is punishable by death in the state. Executions have been on hold since 2015 under a court ruling regarding a drug used in lethal injections.
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