Wife of man shot by officer charged with burglary

BILLINGS (AP) — A Billings woman whose husband was shot while apparently trying to flee the scene of a weekend standoff in a police car has been charged with burglary.

Heather Lynn Brawley, 25, made an initial appearance Tuesday in Justice Court, where her bail was set at $10,000. Justice of the Peace Larry Herman ordered her to appear for arraignment in District Court on Jan. 17.

Brawley and her husband were taken into custody Sunday on suspicion of breaking into a house and were placed in separate patrol cars. Daniel Brawley, 29, was shot by a police officer and died after slipping out of his handcuffs, getting into the driver's seat of an idling patrol car and driving off, hitting the officer with the car, prosecutors said.

The Brawleys had been in the house long enough to eat, take a shower and drink tequila before the homeowner's girlfriend found them and called police, court records said. The woman said she found Daniel Brawley asleep in a chair.

The first officers who arrived went inside the house, but backed out and called for support when they spotted a weapon.

Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said that after police arrived, the Brawleys hid in a crawlspace with weapons.

A SWAT team and a police negotiator talked with the Brawleys for several hours before they surrendered.

When officers went inside the house, they found some of the homeowner's belongings "gathered up and packaged as if to remove them from the residence," court records said.

Heather Brawley told investigators that she and her husband broke into the house, showered, ate and drank tequila. She said they were changing into clothing they found with the intent of washing their own clothes, court records said.

"She further admitted that she found a shotgun in the basement and loaded it with shells," but couldn't explain why she felt she needed it for protection, court records said.

Daniel Brawley had previous convictions for burglary and was scheduled to be sentenced later this month on probation violations.