Tag Archives: Sanpete County Sheriff Brian Nielson

News, Politics, Government

Prosecutors seek to end myth of Utah mountain man

Leave a comment

At first, many locals took to calling Troy James Knapp the mountain man. Even victims of his many cabin break-ins marveled over his ability to slip back into the woods and evade authorities over six years.

But on Wednesday, as the trim 45-year-old whom police characterize as a reclusive survivalist made his first court appearance by grainy video feed from Sanpete County jail, a prosecutor sought to dispel Knapp’s image as some sort of folk hero.

“He wants to be viewed as a gentle drifter in the forest, a romantic figure,” Brody Keisel, the county attorney, told The Associated Press. “I’m convinced he’s a criminal. When I grew up, a mountain man was different. This guy was going from cabin to cabin and enjoying the night in a queen-sized bed.”

Knapp appeared by video for only 10 minutes inside 6th District Court in the rural town of Manti, answering “yes” to Judge Marvin Bagley about his identity and whether he understood the latest of 29 burglary-related felony and misdemeanor charges filed against him across four Utah counties. The charges could keep him behind bars for life.

Authorities say Knapp, whose identity was revealed a year ago from cabin surveillance photos and fingerprints, has been regaling detectives with stories about his long wilderness run and how he managed to evade them.

“He says, ‘You don’t know all about the burglaries,'” Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said.

Knapp also has been telling authorities where he stored stolen weapons and camping gear, according to investigators.

“He’s trying to help us get property back to folks,” Sanpete County Sheriff Brian Nielson said.

In Sanpete County, Knapp faces initial charges of three cabin burglaries, theft of a hatchet, GPS device and other items and criminal mischief for broken windows.

The judge assigned a public defender after finding Knapp had no money to afford a lawyer.

The fugitive who authorities say had a fondness for whisky and a dislike of people had only to face a closed-circuit camera Tuesday. He wasn’t immediately required to enter a plea. His next procedural court hearing was set for April 17.

A police helicopter flushed Knapp from

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

Utah cabin burglar ends long run in wilderness

Leave a comment

Troy James Knapp was dodging authorities, again.

The fugitive with a fondness for whiskey and a dislike of living near people had been wanted for a string of break-ins for years at cabins in Utah’s mountains. With each near miss, each wanted poster and each threatening note left behind for law enforcement, the legend of him only grew.

Knapp survived by holing up inside the cabins, sleeping in the owners’ beds, eating their food and listening to their AM radio for updates on the manhunt. And then, authorities say, he would take off, stealing items such as guns and high-end camping equipment and vanishing into the woods where he lived off dandelions and wild game.

Over Easter weekend, authorities were on his trail, again.

By Tuesday, his life on the lam came to an end, done in by an educated guess by searchers who had grown to know his tendencies, the tracks he left with his snowshoes and the sounds of him chopping wood outside a cabin near a mountain reservoir.

A team of 14 officers approached him on snowshoes — the only way to quietly sneak up on him — and called in reinforcements to help corner the bearded and camouflage-clad fugitive, a trim 45-year-old standing 5-foot-8.

Now in police custody, Knapp is telling authorities how he managed to evade them for so long across a mountainous region stretching for 180 miles. “He really has a fascinating story to tell, and right now he’s willing to tell it,” Sanpete County Sheriff Brian Nielson said.

Knapp, born in Saginaw, Mich., got into trouble with the law early. As a teenager, he was convicted of breaking and entering, passing bad checks and unlawful flight from authorities, according to court records. His most serious offense, an arrest for felony assault in Michigan, was reduced in 1994 to a charge of malicious destruction of property after he agreed to plead guilty.

“He says, ‘I don’t hate people. I just don’t like living with them,'” Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Sheriff Curtis said.

With no known occupation, Knapp drifted across the country and ended up in prison in California for burglary. He fell off the radar in 2004 when he “went on the run” while on parole, said Bobby Haase, a spokesman for the California …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

Utah 'mountain man' reportedly disliked hunters, made threat against them, sheriff says

Leave a comment

The elusive Utah ‘mountain man’ police say confessed to dozens of break-ins and thefts over a six-year span, apparently disliked hunters because of their ATVs and guns, Fox13Now.com reported.

“He didn’t like all the money they spent on their ATVs and guns and different things like that,” Sevier County Sheriff Nate Curtis told the station. “He basically told us he’d rather they have a bow made out of their own hands. So he really, in particular, expressed that he did not like hunters.”

Knapp, 45, told detectives he lived in the wilderness to be away from society, the station reported. He also expressed disdain for people who had an excess of possessions — and admitted to vandalizing cabins he felt had too much, Curtis said.

Authorities also say they’ll seek attempted aggravated homicide charges against Knapp. Sanpete County Sheriff Brian Nielson said Wednesday the charges will be sought after the suspect fired at officers in a helicopter before surrendering on Tuesday.

No one was wounded before Knapp was captured while trying to flee on snowshoes from dozens of officers who converged on snowmobiles.

Nielson says Knapp could face theft and property damage charges in at least six cabin burglaries in his county. Sanpete County Attorney Brody Keisel will decide what counts will be filed. Charges already have been filed in at least three other Utah counties.

Knapp does not yet have an attorney. He is expected to make his initial appearance next week.

Click here for more from Fox13Now.com

The Associated Press contributed to this report

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

Survivalist surrenders to lawmen in Utah mountains

Leave a comment

For six years Troy James Knapp eluded authorities, moving from cabin to cabin across the Utah mountains, taking food and weapons and leaving notes to brag about it.

It all ended Tuesday as lawmen made what they called a surprisingly easy capture outside a remote cabin after the suspect fired off a few harmless shots.

“He was laughing with our guys. He said, ‘Boy, you really snuck up on me,'” said Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis. “He threw his rifle down in the snow and said, ‘You got me.'”

The 45-year-old survivalist is suspected of burglarizing dozens of Utah cabins and leaving taunting notes for owners — “get off my mountain” — and for sheriffs across several counties — “gonna put you in the ground!” Now he faces multiple felonies in at least four counties, including for shooting at a police helicopter and officers on the ground.

The self-styled “Mountain Man” looked sullen as he was walked into Sanpete County jail late Tuesday, already in jail garb from a quick stop at another county jail. Sanpete County prosecutor Brody Keisel said Knapp will have his first court appearance in Manti within days on a number of felony charges.

Knapp has an impressive memory and was eager to recite his travels and numerous cabin break-ins, bragging that authorities knew only the half of it and showing maps, Curtis said. He does not yet have an attorney.

Authorities believe Knapp had lingered around the snowy mountains outside Ferron, about 125 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, since last fall. He took shelter at cabins in the middle of the Manti-LaSal National Forest.

“It is a relief to know that he has been caught,” said Eugene Bartholomew, the owner of a cabin broken into recently at Ferron Reservior under the windswept Wasatch Plateau, where the snow is still piled four feet deep in places. “If he slept in the beds, that’s fine with me. As long as he didn’t tear up the place.”

Bartholomew was planning a trip to inspect his cabin.

No one was hit before Knapp was captured after his brief effort to flee on snowshoes from dozens of officers who converged on snowmobiles and a snowcat, Sanpete County Sheriff Brian Nielson said.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News