MISSOULA — FBI agents are analyzing cellphone data to determine whether two men accused of carjacking a family and holding them hostage while firing on police committed other armed robberies.
A sworn statement by FBI Special Agent Monte Shade attached to a search warrant request says authorities are seeking GPS and cell tower data that could determine the previous locations of Thomas Dempsey and Nick West.
Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch signed the search warrant on Wednesday.
Dempsey and West are accused of robbing a Missoula casino on May 27. Authorities say they carjacked a family of five outside and forced them to lead police on a chase through the city.
The men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Shade’s statement says men fitting their descriptions robbed casinos in Missoula and Stevensville earlier that month.