By James England via concealednation.org: A high speed police pursuit ended after a SUV carrying three suspects collided with a GMC Sierra on the north side of Billings, Montana. The suspects’ vehicle flipped over and they got out in an attempt to flee the scene of the crime. Two of the suspects ran straight into a law-abiding gun owner who held them at gunpoint until police could arrest them.
According to KTVQ News, the gunowner pursued the suspects and held them at gunpoint. Police arrived and quickly took custody of the criminals. One of the suspects had an outstanding warrant for his arrest and both had non-life-threatening injuries. No shots were fired while they were subdued.
“They started running away until I pulled my firearm on them and put them on the ground,” the gunowner said to KTVQ.
“The firearm made them pretty submissive,” the gunowner said. “As far as I know, they were armed and dangerous criminals. They posed a threat to me, my son, anyone in this area by acting the way they were. So if you can stop that, that’s what you need to do.”
The gun owner noted that prior to their crash, they rolled through an intersection without braking, resulting in a heavy collision with another SUV. The occupants of the hit SUV appear to be in good condition but there was a heightened degree of danger for anyone in the area.
Once held at gunpoint, both suspects complied with the gunowner and he made it clear that they needed to keep their hands visible at all times. One was so shaken as to plead for his life. That wouldn’t be necessary.
A third suspect is still on the loose and authorities are seeking information leading to his arrest.
The Montana Highway Patrol confirmed that it was one of their officers who first identified a temporary plate on the back of the suspects’ Ford Explorer and sought to pull them over. The SUV fled from the patrol cruiser, resulting in a high speed pursuit. That pursuit went through Billings, placing the lives and well-being of those in the area at considerable risk.
Criminals don’t give a flip about bystanders. That’s our problem — and especially if it’s our family that happens to be in the crosshairs. By the very nature of these bad guys’ flight from justice, they callously risked the lives of those around them. Thankfully, there was a gunowner willing to step up to the plate and subdue two of them. Bystanders came out after the vehicle flipped and it just happened that a law-abiding gun owner was first on the scene and ready to act. Good work, man.
The occupants of the hit SUV appear to be in good condition but there was a heightened degree of danger for anyone in the area.
Danger is heightened for anybody who happens to be in the path of a high speed chase.
Criminals don’t give a flip about bystanders.
Which can also be said about the cops who chase them into bystanders.
And why was this life threatening chase needed?
Because the perps were driving on a temporary registration.
I’m sure the family in the Sierra are grateful for the highway patrol’s perseverance in the case.
Oh forgive me, I forgot in your world it’s ok to evade police when conducting a stop to inquire the status of a temporary registration. Thanks for the update.
Note November 9th your master and commander will be gone.
Good point. I’m going to set up my Barrett at the corner stop sign that everyone seems to run. Next time there is a fender bender, I’ll be ready to show the perps some western justice.
Seriously, it dilutes the castle doctrine and common sense second amendment rights when the reason for pulling a concieled piece on a fellow citizen has to be stretched to eminent life threatening danger. Just call em like you see em and that keeps the logical enemies at bay. This is Montana after all.
“Seems to run” nope they were evading. You do have a point though, that fifty in the engine block could have prevented the roll over.
Continue Mission Mike…and ❤️ your rifle.
That fact the He will be gone after this election would only mean something if his successor was a real president. This cycle neither candidate has any business being in the same zip code as 1600 Pensylvania ave. Sadly one of them will be our next president.
“And why was this life threatening chase needed?
Because the perps were driving on a temporary registration.”
That’s the way it starts.
First, no vehicle registration, next thing you know they’ll be ripping the tags of of pillows and mattresses…
off of pillows and mattresses…
These two perps fled the police and risked all of this. They aren’t good guys. Hell, one of them already had a felony arrest warrant out on him! That’s why they fled. I don’t know Montana law, but in Texas, flight from police is a felony. I bet it’s similarly serious up there.
There was probable cause to make the stop. Subsequent events only confirmed the wisdom of the initial suspicion. I’m glad they got these menaces off the streets. We know that only a small percentage if crimes committed even result in an arrest, let alone a conviction. Who knows how many other crimes these two have committed or would have committed? Doesn’t matter (I know you’re just aching to make a pre-crime counterpoint), because they’re going down hard for this crime.
Temporary registrations are perfectly legal, I have driven for months on several different ones from several states, without ever being stopped for it. So, what was this “probable cause” you speak of? Can we guess the color of the driver? Sounds extremely shaky to me.
Yeah, the cops should just quit chasing people. Let them get away. Hopefully it wasn’t one of YOUR family members that they just raped or killed.
MORON.
Darn he didn’t comply with the white nazi narrative of just shooting them.
Clinton’s campaign so disappointed.
“Criminals don’t give a flip about bystanders.
Which can also be said about the cops who chase them into bystanders.”
Lots of things “can be said” but often it takes an exceptionally ‘special’ individual to say them.
some places don’t chase fleeing vehicles for that reason. others think it does more good than bad to give chase. you don’t need to bray like a donkey about it because they probably have considered the pros and cons and made their decision rationally.
Note it was a citizen bearing arms not a militia that stopped fleeing criminals and wait for it…protected the community.
Anti gunners just flip out their phones video then running.
Adult man with a gun equates to a militia member well regulated (equipped).
Just in time for the election!
Those off camber, decreasing radius turns will get ya every time.
Kudos to the guy with the gun.
The cops should give him a medal.
I also think the cops need to chase bad guys. Othwrwise, what’s the point.
Good ending this time because of a gun-toting citizen.
Well, you can call it a good ending because the cops were lucky enough that one of the occupants was wanted (still don’t know if he was *guilty* of anything). What if there had been no one wanted in the vehicle? It would be interesting to know the actual reason they attempted the stop. Could be suspicion, could be shakedown, could be just about anything except justified.
It sounds like they chased the guys for false registration and felony evading, then felony hit and run. The warrant arrest was way after the fact. It might speek to the motivation of why they fled but has no bearing on why the cops chased them. The cops were either legally justified in the persuit given their state and local pursuit policies or not (supreme court says the cops can pursue but that legal cover can be trimmed down based on local politics)….. it sounds like the cops have a restricted policy in your area, if you are any reflection of the people in your area. However, it sounds like the cops aren’t as restricted in Montana……. i know out here in San Francisco the cops can’t pursue…. maybe you should move out here to San Francisco, LarryTX, where they seem to feel the same way about law enforcement as you do.
As more and more average folks pack guns this will become more and more common.
Interesting to see comments focusing on the cops chasing people who failed to stop when required. They had reason to run and the cops are duly required to do something, not just watch them drive away and hope they run out of gas.
Libertarian types think they should chase anyone or even stop travelers on the road, freedom and all that.
What do our freedom loving people propose be done?
Don’t attempt to stop anyone without probable cause. Just like the last 50 years. Nothing would have happened, no chase, no danger, no crash, no guns, and on and on.
Let me try again. No one is questioning giving chase when a car refuses to stop. The question was, why were they required to stop? There was zero probable cause, making racial prejudice and/or LE thuggery likely. And if certain people are regularly stopped and beaten for resisting arrest, while the charge they were being arrested for was “resisting arrest”, then running from the stop becomes more attractive. We do not have the whole story.
Would our hero have shot both miscreants if they took off running?
I’d give the guy the benefit of the doubt and say “no”. The fact that he didnt blast these guys when they were running tells me that he most likely wouldnt blast them if they continued to run.
One of the great things about MT is that self-help and self-reliance are still alive and well there. Story a few years back at the opposite end of the state, where some perps robbed a convenience store, and then fled for the border a half an hour away. They didn’t make it. No one died, and all were ultimately apprehended, though I believe that one or two were a bit shot up. In a county larger than Rhode Island, that often has a single deputy working late at night.
Comments are closed.