Casino robbery leads to high-speed chase
by Kootenai Valley Record
September 17, 2009
A report of an armed robbery Friday evening at Lucky Logger Casino in Libby led to a high-speed chase on Highway 2 nearly to the Idaho state line and the arrest of two men on felony charges.
Arrested were Michael James Davis, 37, of Helena, and David William Redford, 50, of Moyie Springs, Idaho. Davis was charged with robbery while Redford is facing charges of robbery by accountability.
According to court documents, a dispatcher at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a Lucky Logger employee at 7:29 p.m. reporting that a man with a gun had robbed the casino and fled in a vehicle driven by another man. The caller described the man and the vehicle, which was spotted traveling west past Rosauers by a Libby police officer. The officer attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the vehicle accelerated away, leading to a pursuit in which speeds exceeded 100 mph.
Sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Montana Highway Patrol, Troy Police Department and the U.S. Forest Service assisted in the pursuit. Spike strips deployed by MHP near Troy flattened the vehicle’s driver’s side front tire, but the vehicle continued through Troy and on to mile marker 2 before coming to a stop.
A number of officers converged on the vehicle and ordered the two men inside, later identified as Davis and Redford, out of the vehicle. Both were taken into custody without further incident.
Davis was identified as the driver. According to an affidavit filed by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Detective Joe Nagle, Davis was found to be wearing an empty shoulder holster and holding a large amount of cash in his pocket. A handgun and more cash were later found in the vehicle’s glove box.
Interviews with witnesses indicated Davis was the person who demanded money, brandished a gun and took the money from the casino.
According to the affidavit, Redford later acknowledged that he had been sitting in the vehicle while Davis went into the casino.
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Editor’s Note: See the September 15, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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