Ruling: Standoff gunman committed suicide

The man who held himself at gunpoint for 21 hours in April outside the U.S. Bank building was officially deemed to have committed suicide.

A coroner's jury made the decision Friday on the cause of Robert Jay Thomas II's death.

"The jury found he was killed by taking his own life with a pistol" said Hill County Attorney Ed Hirsch. "Basically, by shooting himself in the head."

Every suspicious death in Montana is subject to a coroner's inquest.

Richard J. "Dick" Brown, the coroner of Fergus County, was in charge of the hearing.

The coroner's trial must be conducted by a coroner outside of the county where the death occurred.

The standoff between Thomas and multiple law agencies, including the FBI, began at 11 p.m. April 6 when a Havre Police Department officer attempted to make a motor vehicle stop for a minor vehicle violation. Thomas ran from the vehicle and, after a short chase, posted himself outside the U.S. Bank building on 1st Street.

Throughout the ensuing 21 hours, police closed off larger sections of Havre's downtown area and through traffic from U.S. Highway 2 was routed elsewhere. Multiple attempts to subdue the man through negotiations and sneaking up on him were made, but unsuccessful. Snipers on rooftops across the street from the bank had their weapons ready.

At 7:42 p.m. Monday, Thomas fired a shot directed into his own head and was pronounced dead at Northern Montana Hospital.