Fugitive Montana Farmer Sets Courthouse, Jail Ablaze Confrontation With Law Officers Precedes Early Morning Torching

Four hastily drafted deputies patrolled this eastern Montana town Friday after a fugitive farmer set fire to the Prairie County courthouse and jail, County Attorney Dale Hubber said.

George Coon, who held Sheriff Tom Bruski and Undersheriff Dion Steinley at riflepoint Wednesday when they tried to serve legal papers at his house, appeared at the sheriff’s office about 12:30 a.m., carrying a shotgun and a 2-1/2-gallon can of gasoline, Hubber said.

“He said he was going to ‘torch the damn building,”’ dispatcher Pat Tusler said.

Coon allowed her to release the only prisoner in the jail, then ordered her to leave.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Jerry Smith made a preliminary estimate of $40,000 to $50,000 damage to the building, constructed in the early 1900s and recently remodeled.

Fire Chief Dwight Tague said fire damaged two rooms of the courthouse and smoke damaged the rest of the building. Hubber said the jail was left unusable.

“It was wild there for a while,” Tague said. “I think we had almost our full crew here. We even got a couple guys off the street who were willing to help lay out hose, at first.”

Hubber said four special deputies were sworn in immediately and patrolled the town the rest of the night - former Sheriff Gary Larson, former Assistant Police Chief Jerry Sharp, Tim Siegle and a Dawson County sheriff’s deputy.

Schools closed at 1 p.m. Friday because many parents were reluctant to send their children.

Coon, whose farm is about three miles west of Terry, was charged with felony assault after Wednesday’s confrontation.

Hubber said Bruski and Steinley went to Coon’s house Wednesday to serve him with a notice to appear in court for a domestic abuse case, to tell him that a restraining order in a divorce case was still in effect, and to tell him that he had to leave the house.

Before the officers could state their business, Hubber said, Coon pointed a semiautomatic rifle at them and forced them to their knees, then ordered them to leave.

Police and sheriff’s officers from nearby counties surrounded the house, but could not establish communication with Coon. A special team from Yellowstone County finally burst into the house only to find that Coon was gone.

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