WASHINGTON — A Colorado man criminally charged for his alleged involvement in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 had his pretrial release revoked this week after he shot and killed a mountain lion – apparently in violation of a judge's orders he was not to possess firearms while he awaits trial.
According to court documents, FBI agents learned Patrick Montgomery shot and killed the mountain lion near camp grounds south of Denver on March 31, less than two months after a judge granted him pretrial release on charges of violent entry and disorderly conduct for allegedly storming the capitol building and entering the U.S. Senate Chambers. Montgomery entered a not guilty plea on all charges.
In a motion to revoke Montgomery’s release and order him detained before trial, prosecutors included a photo of Montgomery holding the dead mountain lion and a mandatory check done by Colorado Parks and Wildlife anytime a mountain lion is “harvested” in the state.
According to that report, Montgomery told the parks officer he killed the mountain lion with .357 magnum handgun. The officer ran a mandatory background check on Montgomery and discovered he is a convicted felon – having pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery in New Mexico in 1996.
In releasing Montgomery before trial on his capitol riot charges, a judge ordered him not illegally posses firearms as a condition of his release. Montgomery told the parks officer he was allowed to possess firearms for hunting as part of his plea agreement on the robbery charges. Court documents show the officer reviewed the court case from New Mexico and found no firearms exemptions for hunting or any other reason.
The parks officer also found it reportedly wasn’t the first time Montgomery violated wildlife laws while on pre-trial release. Court documents show he admitted to the parks officer that back in March he and his dogs followed a bobcat for approximately 11 miles before his dogs killed the bobcat, which violates local hunting rules.
Acting United States Attorney Channing Phillips said in court filing last week that, "Montgomery has no respect for the Court's orders, just like he had no respect for law enforcement at the Capitol on January 6."
After prosecutors filed its motion to send Montgomery to jail for possessing the gun that he used to kill the mountain lion, defense attorneys struck a deal with both sides agreeing to putting Montgomery on home detention with GPS monitoring.