‘Mountain Man’ sentenced to decade in prison after years on run
For years, he lived a solitary life amid the expansive wilderness of Utah, as he ransacked cabins and trekked hundreds of kilometres on snowshoes with a rifle over his shoulder.
For the next decade, he’ll live behind bars.
Troy James Knapp, known by many as the “Mountain Man”, agreed yesterday to a package of plea deals on burglary and weapons charges in state and federal courts, closing dozens of criminal cases against him in seven Utah counties.
Knapp, 46, was sentenced in the District Court in St George to 10 years and six months in prison on federal weapons charges after he fired shots at agents before he surrendered in April last year in the snowy mountains of central Utah.
He also pleaded guilty to 10 burglary counts on state charges, with each state conviction drawing a sentence of one to 15 years and a US$10,000 ($11,760) fine.
State court judge Eric Ludlow ran the sentences concurrently and waived the fine. Knapp’s defence lawyers said he was indigent.
He will receive credit for the 14 months he has already served in jail.
The plea deals mark the end of the mysterious story of an unknown California fugitive who became a sensation in Utah as he raided cabins, stealing guns, whisky and supplies.
Judge Ted Stewart said Knapp should write a book about his experi- ences, and told him he would have plenty of time to do it in prison.
In 2007, southern Utah authorities began investigating a string of cabin burglaries they believed were tied to one person. It was not until early 2012 that they identified Knapp from cabin surveillance photos and fingerprints on a Jim Beam bottle.
Authorities say Knapp spent winters holed up in snowbound cabins, listening to the radio for updates about the manhunt. In summer he retreated deep into the woods with a doomsday supply of guns, dehydrated foods, radios, batteries and high-end camping gear.
Authorities finally closed in on Knapp around Easter 2013 by using some of his own tactics. After tracking him on snowshoes for three days, dozens of officers converged on him in snowmobiles and a snowcat, flushing him out of the cabin. He fired several shots at officers and a heli- copter, and tried to flee on snowshoes before being caught.
Knapp declined to speak in federal court and when asked by Ludlow in state court if he had anything to say, Knapp said: “No, thank you.”
After his arrest last year, Knapp fired his defence lawyer and defiantly told a judge he would represent himself. But Assistant Attorney Matthew Bell said Knapp has been cooperating with authorities since agreeing to the plea deal.
Knapp helped authorities to find 16 weapons he had stored away in four locations in four different counties.
His lawyer Jay Winward said all weapons Knapp stole in his years on the run had been accounted for.
The defence said the weapons were used for protection against wild animals and never to “scare, threaten or use against citizens”, other than him firing at the federal agents.