A Swan Valley man who shot a Missoula County Sheriff’s deputy in 1992 will remain in prison after the Montana Board of Pardon and Parole denied his request for freedom.
Gordon Dwane Sellner, 77, appeared at a parole board hearing on Aug. 31 at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.
Sellner, an anti-tax protester, shot Deputy Bob Parcell on June 27, 1992 during a traffic stop. Sellner ran into the woods and evaded capture for three years. He was arrested in 1995 and convicted of attempted deliberate homicide. A Lake County District Court judge sentenced Sellner to life in prison in 1996.
Sellner first came up for parole in 2011 but his request was denied. On Aug. 31, Parcell and a number of other officers told the parole board that Sellner should stay behind bars because he was a danger to the community. Sellner asked the board to instead focus on the progress he has made in prison in the last two decades and noted that he has never been disciplined in the prison.
The parole board will review Sellner’s case again in 2019 and at that time could recommend another parole hearing.