BOZEMAN — The man charged with attempted deliberate homicide after allegedly shooting at sheriff’s detective and then leading law enforcement on a chase and standoff appeared in Gallatin County Wednesday morning.
Jon Patrick Binkley, 35, is being held on a $750,000 bond.
Binkley is accused of shooting at law enforcement in Belgrade early on the morning of Feb. 18.
He then fled the area, which turned into a multi-county police pursuit on the highway involving several law enforcement agencies.
Multiple agencies were involved in the chase which ended in Binkley’s arrest over 130 miles away.
The interstate was shut down for several hours during the standoff near Garrison.
“We got word about 12:30 last night (Feb. 18) that a male driving a pickup with a trailer had been involved in a pursuit situation in Gallatin County and had fired at an officer,” said Butte Sheriff Ed Lester.
Binkley drove into Butte early on Feb. 18 and a local officer located the man in his truck parked at Elm and Home streets.
A police pursuit ensued in town, which continued on I-90 westbound.
Anaconda police deployed a device to deflate one of the fleeing vehicle’s tires, but the chase continued at high speeds.
“The speeds still were up at 90 to 100 miles per hour going westbound even after he’d lost his right front tire, so that’s dangerous in itself,” said Lester.
Binkley eventually pulled over on the side of the highway west of Garrison.
Missoula and Butte both dispatched SWAT teams to the scene with armored vehicles, and eventually arrested the driver without incident.
The sheriff said Binkley appeared highly disoriented at the time.
Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles said firearms were found in the suspect’s truck.
Binkley’s next court appearance is set for March 19.
