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Three people arrested in connection with Jefferson County shooting

Posted at 7:12 AM, Nov 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-15 09:33:26-05

Three people were taken into custody in Idaho, in connection with a shooting in Jefferson County on Tuesday afternoon.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests around three o’clock Wednesday on Facebook. Sheriff Craig Doolittle said the suspects were apprehended without incident, at a casino in the Blackfoot, Idaho, area.

Just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a Jefferson County deputy tried to pull over a blue Chrysler 300 on Interstate 15, between Montana City and Clancy. Doolittle said the deputy saw the car driving erratically – drifting over the line and keeping its blinker on without pulling over.

Authorities said the car didn’t stop, and someone fired multiple shots at the deputy. Doolittle said the shots broke the patrol vehicle’s windshield and dented the hood, but the deputy wasn’t injured.

The suspects’ vehicle fled at high speed, north on I-15. The Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office reported it was later seen heading east on Canyon Ferry Road. Leaders believed three men were inside.

Doolittle said, when the suspects were taken into custody in Idaho, they were not in the same vehicle.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the incident.

“All the cases are important to us, we want them all solved quickly, but any time somebody gets shot at, it’s a serious crime and it deserves everybody’s cooperation and attention,” said Doolittle.

Doolittle said it’s not clear yet when the suspects might be brought back to Jefferson County. He said it still hasn’t been determined whether they will also face charges in Idaho.

He thanked everyone who assisted his office during the search.

“Not only all the other agencies that helped – our surrounding agencies, out-of-state agencies, federal agencies – but also the public,” he said. “All the tips we got and all of the information they called into us, the information in the comments they left on our Facebook page – they’re greatly appreciated, and they were a big help.”

-Reported by Jonathon Ambarian/MTN News

(November 14, 2018, 10:33 a.m.) Law enforcement officers are still on the lookout for three people who reportedly fired several gunshots at a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said that at 3:25 p.m. on Tuesday one of its deputies attempted to make a traffic stop near mile marker 185 in the northbound lane of Interstate 15.

Jefferson County Sheriff Craig Doolittle told MTN News on Wednesday that the deputy initiated the traffic stop after seeing the suspect vehicle, a blue Chrysler 300 with unreadable registration, driving erratically. Sheriff Doolittle said the deputy noticed the car drift over the center line, and the blinker was on without the driver pulling over.

The driver did not stop and several shots were fired at the deputy.

The deputy’s patrol vehicle was struck and the suspects drove away at a high rate of speed. The deputy was not injured.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said the vehicle was believed to have been occupied by three males, whose identities remain unknown.

The vehicle was last seen in Lewis & Clark County.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has been assisted by law enforcement and communications officers from Broadwater County Sheriff’s Office, the Montana Highway Patrol, the Helena Police Department, and the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

If you have any information about the incident, you are asked to call (406) 225-4075. If you see the suspect vehicle, please call 911. Do not approach as the suspects are considered armed and dangerous.