HELENA — Update as of 4:30 p.m.
A man wanted on three counts of homicide in Illinois was arrested Tuesday morning in Helena following a multi-agency effort involving U.S. Marshals and local and state law enforcement.
Watch full video below:
Around 9:20 a.m., U.S. Marshals alerted the Helena Police Department that Kelsey Simmons, a long-haul truck driver, was heading toward Helena in a tractor-trailer.
Montana Highway Patrol located the truck near Wolf Creek and followed it south toward Helena. As the truck approached the city, Helena police moved unmarked units into position.
“The timing of it and trying to get all the officers in place with limited information, all we knew is that he’s got a warrant for homicide and he’s driving in this vehicle with these license plates,” Helena Police Capt. Adam Shanks said.
MHP initiated a traffic stop on the southbound Interstate 15 off-ramp near Custer Avenue.
With Simmons wanted on three homicide counts and driving a tractor-trailer, Helena police sent every available on-duty officer to respond. The Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
Shanks said officers were prepared for the possibility that Simmons would not stop.
“There was some concern on if he wouldn’t stop, what would happen if he wouldn’t stop, things like that,” Shanks said. “We did have a large contingent of officers down there to try to keep that situation isolated in case the vehicle didn’t come to a stop.”
Simmons did pull over and cooperated with officers. Police said no one was injured.
Simmons was taken into custody around 10 a.m., less than an hour after local law enforcement was first notified.
“We can all work well together, and we all know that we have a single goal and a single job to do and we can all work well together to get that job done,” Shanks said.
Simmons is being held at the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center and is expected to appear in Lewis and Clark County District Court.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Law enforcement officers arrested a man wanted on three counts of homicide out of Illinois after a high-risk felony stop in the Helena area.
At approximately 9:20 a.m., Helena Police Department officers serving as task force officers with the U.S. Marshals received information that a wanted man was traveling through the Helena area. The man was wanted on three counts of homicide out of Illinois.
Helena Police Department and Montana Highway Patrol officers conducted a high-risk felony stop and took Kelsey Simmons into custody. Simmons was the subject of the arrest warrant.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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