UPDATED: 3 p.m. - April 19, 2024
A jury on Friday found the man accused of running over and seriously injuring a Montana Highway Patrol trooper in Lincoln County in 2023 guilty on all counts.
Closing arguments in the trial of Jason Allen Miller began on Friday morning in Libby, and the case was then handed over to the jury for deliberations.
Miller was found guilty of attempted deliberate homicide, criminal endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal possession of dangerous drugs, aggravated kidnapping, and a sentencing enhancement for the use of a weapon.
Miller is accused of hitting and running over Trooper Lewis Johnson who sustained life-threatening injuries.
Despite rigorous rehabilitation efforts, Trooper Johnson remains paralyzed from the waist down.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued the following statement in response to the verdict:
“We will not tolerate violence against law enforcement officers in Montana. Justice has been served, and the perpetrator will be held to account for his heinous actions last year.”
A tentative sentencing date for Miller has been set for June 5, 2024.
- information from Kiana Wilson included in this report.
(first report: 10:49 a.m. - April 19, 2024)
Jury deliberations began Friday morning in a Libby courtroom for the man who is accused of running over and seriously injuring a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper in Lincoln County in 2023.
Jason Allen Miller has been charged with several felony counts after Miller hit MHP Trooper Lewis Johnson with his vehicle as law enforcement tried to arrest Miller on a warrant on February 16, 2023, near Eureka.
Miller had previously pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, which include attempted deliberate homicide, criminal endangerment, possession of dangerous drugs, and aggravated kidnapping.
Johnson spent months in recovery and rehab at a Colorado hospital before returning to his hometown of Chester, Montana in October of 2023.
A jury will begin deliberating Miller's fate once Friday's closing arguments wrap up.
