High-speed pursuit ends in armed standoff, arrest

A pursuit which started on Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation Wednesday and ended in Beaver Creek Park turned into a standoff that ran long into the night after suspect Thompson Densmore St. Pierre of Rocky Boy, 29, attempted to flee from law enforcement.

This morning St. Pierre was being held without bond in Hill County Detention Center on a federal warrant and two felony counts of assault on a peace officer.

Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross said the Rocky Boy Police Department started the pursuit with a green Honda Elantra while on the reservation, but called for assistance at 4:36 p.m. after the pursuit ran onto U.S. Highway 87. He added that by the time Hill County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene the pursuit had already ended north of Sucker Creek Road on Montana Highway 234, also known as Beaver Creek Highway.

The driver, an unidentified female, was taken into custody, but St. Pierre had fled into the nearby brush.

Hill County sheriff’s deputies and Rocky Boy police searched the brush, he said, and Rocky Boy Police found the suspect. When they confronted St. Pierre he brandished a pistol and pointed the weapon at the officers before running deeper into the brush.

Ross said that after finding that the suspect was armed they set a perimeter and requested assistance from other agencies.

Havre Police Department, Hill County Search and Rescue, Montana Highway Patrol, U.S. Border Patrol, Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Great Falls Police Department High Risk Unit, Bear Paw Volunteer Fire Department and Havre Ambulance responded, he said.

An ambulance and a fire truck were on standby at the scene in case of emergency, he added.

Ross said they barricaded the suspect in the brush, adding that the patch was approximately 75-by-75 yards. The brush had thick vegetation, with 6 feet of growth in some areas and had tunnels within it made by wildlife.

“He would not come out after hours of negotiation,” he added.

Law enforcement tried to communicate with the suspect the whole time, but the suspect was not complying with any of the commands, he said.

“He wouldn't even talk to us,” Ross said. “Negotiations were going nowhere.”

Hill County Search and Rescue used their drone, but where unable to locate the suspect, he said. He added that the Great Falls High Risk Unit responded with their equipment and used their drone. The suspect was then located and arrested at 11:52 p.m.

No one was injured and no shots were fired during the arrest.