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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A man accused of eluding authorities for at least four years while burglarizing remote cabins across Utah is scheduled to be in court Monday in St. George to resolve dozens of federal and state charges he's facing.
Troy James Knapp, 46, known as the "Mountain Man," will be in federal court first where a judge must approve a plea deal Knapp agreed to in April on weapons charges. That deal calls for a prison sentence of at least 10 years.
Sanpete County Attorney Brody Keisel tells The Associated Press that after the federal hearing, Knapp is scheduled to take plea deals from seven Utah counties.
Details of the plea deals are not being disclosed, but he's charged with more than 40 burglary-related crimes dating back to 2009. Knapp is set to take individual plea deals for each county, but prosecutors in the seven counties have been working together to make sure everybody is on board with the package of deals, Keisel said.
He's charged in Beaver, Emery, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Sanpete and Sevier counties.
Knapp, 46, pleaded guilty in early April in St. George to use, carry and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, with charges of assault against a federal officer and felony weapon possession dismissed as part of the deal.
Knapp's attorney representing him on the federal charges, Jay Winward, said the federal judge must formally approve that deal Monday in what is being called a sentencing hearing. Winward said he's not sure how the state judge will handle the charges from the seven counties.
Authorities say Knapp, on parole after a California burglary conviction, went on the run in 2004 and burglarized remote cabins across Utah. He evaded police for years while stealing guns, whiskey and supplies.
Though charges go back to 2009, investigators believe Knapp was breaking into cabins for several years before that. He evaded police for years while stealing guns, whiskey and supplies. His story gained widespread attention when police released a surveillance photo of him in December 2011 with snow shoes with a rifle slung over his shoulder.
He was captured in April 2013 in the mountains outside the small town of Ferron in central Utah. Federal authorities say Knapp shot at a law enforcement helicopter and aimed an assault rifle at other officers before surrendering.
After his April arrest, Knapp told authorities he just didn't like living around people.
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