TOWNSEND — A California man who reportedly talked about getting into a shootout with law enforcement officers has pleaded not guilty to more than two dozen felony charges including accountability to deliberate homicide in the May 16 shooting death of a Montana sheriff’s deputy.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports 61-year-old Lloyd Barrus was arraigned in District Court in Townsend Friday for charges stemming from the death of Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore and a pursuit on Interstate 90 that ended in another shootout about 35 miles east of Missoula. Barrus’ son Marshall, was shot in the head and died the next day.
Barrus’ charges include five counts of attempted deliberate homicide, two of accountability for attempted deliberate homicide and 10 counts of assault on a peace officer. Prosecutors have not decided if they will seek the death penalty.