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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Fugitive Wounded In Raid Montana Tax Protester Was Wanted For Shooting Deputy

Fugitive Gordon Sellner was wounded Tuesday when lawmen raided the tax protester’s forest retreat and were met by gunfire, officials said.

Late Tuesday, Sellner’s wife, Roberta, turned herself in to authorities in Kalispell, along with one of the couple’s four daughters.

Authorities had waited for more than three years for Sellner to give himself up on a warrant accusing him of attempted murder in the shooting of a Missoula County sheriff’s deputy.

“I’m pleased he’s finally been arrested,” said Attorney General Joe Mazurek in Helena. “This has gone on for too long.”

Mazurek said he had not been fully briefed late Tuesday but, “I do know that Sellner fired shots first.”

Personnel from the state Criminal Investigation Bureau were asked to assist Lake County lawmen in the raid, Mazurek said.

Sellner was flown from his Swan Valley residence by helicopter to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula where he was listed in stable condition with wounds to his neck and shoulder.

Mazurek said the fugitive was not seriously hurt. Hospital officials referred calls to Lake County Sheriff Joe Geldrich, who insisted on coordinating release of information.

On June 27, 1992, Sellner was in a pickup truck that was stopped as part of an investigation into an unrelated assault in the Swan Valley. He allegedly got out of the pickup, shot Condon-based deputy Bob Parcell, who was wearing a safety vest.

Parcell recovered from his chest wound and returned to work weeks later. Last month, Parcell filed a civil suit against Sellner, just before the three-year statute of limitations expired.

In October 1994, Sellner told the Missoulian newspaper that he would willingly give himself up if charges against him were dropped. Sellner, 57, claimed he shot the deputy in self defense, even though Sellner fired first.