Troy James Knapp, better known as the Utah Mountain Man, is responsible for several cabin burglaries dating back to 2007, but managed to evade the police for over six years. He was recently found last year, and has been working with the police since agreeing to a plea deal.
Part of the deal meant that Knapp had to help the police find at least 16 weapons that he hid in four counties within Utah. On Monday, Knapp appeared in court to agree to a package of plea deals that was created by each of the seven counties where the burglaries occurred.
Knapp first had to meet with a federal judge who had to agree to the plea deals. Each of the counties will then bring their own charges against Knapp, who is being accused of being responsible for at least 40 cabin burglaries over the last five years.
Knapp has been in trouble with the law throughout most of his life. He was arrested as a teenager for breaking and entering, passing bad checks and unlawful flight from authorities. He became a drifter and begin making his way across the country, using burglary to finance his travels. He eventually ended up in prison in California.
While on parole in 2004, Knapp said he was going out for a jog and disappeared. It wasn’t until 2007 that authorities linked a chain of cabin burglaries in Utah to Knapp.
One of the cabins that Knapp broke into had a security camera that showed footage of Knapp ransacking the place. Knapp stole weapons, food and alcohol from the cabins. He also slept in the beds and left notes to both the cabin owners and the police. Some of these notes thanked the owners and others taunted the police.
Police finally located Knapp by tracking his snowshoe prints for over three days and arrested him after a shootout at the cabin where he had been staying.
Knapp was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for his crimes. The details of his plea deals were not available.
How do you think he managed to evade the police for so long?
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