Coroner's Inquest finds no criminal intent made in shooting of Malta man

After nearly four hours of testimony, it took seven jurors a little over 15 minutes to decide no criminal action took place when Phillips County Sheriff's Deputy Alan Guderjahn deployed lethal force by discharging his firearm resulting in the death of Ambrose Mecklenburg on July 27, 2016, after Mecklenburg attacked him with a knife.

The day after the Corner's Inquest decision, Deputy Guderjahn told the PCN he wanted to thank everyone in the community for all of their support after the incident and thanked everyone who attended the prayer vigil held for Mecklenburg and himself.

"The support has been tremendous," he said. "It has really been awesome."

About 40 people were in attendance during the inquest including family members of both Deputy Guderjahn and Mecklenburg. Coroner Richard J. Brown from Fergus County led the inquest and Phillips County Attorney Ed Amestoy questioned a total of 12 witnesses – including Deputy Guderjahn -- during the four hour process. At the beginning of the day, Coroner Brown explained that a Corner's Inquest is a formal inquiry into the circumstances and causes involved in the death of a person caused by a police officer as required by Montana Code Annotated. He said an outside, independent coroner is brought in to run the proceedings to avoid any conflict of interest.

In the early morning of July 27, Deputy Guderjahn approached Mecklenburg south of Malta on Highway 191 between mile markers 122 and 123, according to court testimony. Jurors were shown two videos of the altercation between Deputy Guderjahn and Mecklenburg that morning – the first recorded by the body camera worn by the deputy and the second from the dashboard camera on the deputy's truck. Phillips County Sheriff Scott Moran said body cameras have started being used in Phillips County this year and then showed the jury how the camera works and explained that the sound recording is delayed when the record button is turned on.

As the video rolled without sound, the footage shows a man clothed in a sweatshirt and socks approach Deputy Guderjahn on foot on the highway.

"You are out here with no clothes on, man," Deputy Guderjahn said.

The man, Mecklenburg, says something inaudible and Deputy Guderjahn said "you can't do that" referring to walking around with almost no clothes on.

"How about if I give you a ride," said Guderjahn.

"How about not," said Mecklenburg.

"I have to give you a ride," said Deputy Guderjahn.

"Why?" Mecklenburg asks.

"For your safety," Deputy Guderjahn responds.

Mecklenburg then tells Deputy Guderjahn that he is "fine now" and Deputy Guderjahn again says he wants to give the man a ride.

"You wann'a give me a ride, huh?" Mecklenburg said before lunging forward armed with a pocketknife and striking the officer. Deputy Guderjahn takes a blow to his head and the sound of his police Taser can be heard firing. Another stab from Mecklenburg manages to hit the button on the deputy's body camera and the recording stops.

Upon watching the video a second time, Sheriff Moran points out when Mecklenburg pulled the knife from inside of the sweatshirt's pocket he is wearing before attacking Deputy Guderjahn.

The next video shown to the jury is from the dashboard camera from Deputy Guderjahn's vehicle.

"In the car camera, the video points forward the whole time and everything happens off to the side of the vehicle," Sheriff Moran explained before the video played. Sheriff Moran said that the dashboard camera also has a microphone. At one point in the second video, the deputy's car shakes as Mecklenburg and Deputy Guderjahn struggle and bounce off of the front of the truck before the sound of Guderjahn's weapon firing. Deputy Guderjahn then reenters his vehicle, breathing heavily, and calls dispatch.

"Get me help now," he says.

"Right away," a dispatcher replies.

The jury was then shown several pictures taken by Sheriff Moran at the scene, one of which shows Mecklenburg laying on his back with a knife in his hand.

Deputy Guderjahn was the final witness of the day, but before him testimony from witnesses told of a troubled young man who was suffering from paranoia and was using illicit drugs. Mecklenburg's journey started in the towns of Broadview and Sheppard and moved north to Malta, Mecklenburg's hometown, before he attacked the sheriff's deputy and was killed.

County Attorney Amestoy's first expert witness was Scott Larson, Toxicology Supervisor from the Montana State Crime Lab. Larson stated that a toxicology test was performed on Mecklenburg following his death and the only illicit drug detected was Hydroxy THC, the inactive metabolite of marijuana. Larson said that Deputy Guderjahn was also given a toxicology test which came back negative. Though the toxicology test didn't show signs of other drugs, Mecklenburg admitted to others (who would testify during the day) he had been using drugs. Larson admitted that not all drug use is found during a toxicology report.

Phillips County Hospital's Dr. Edwin Medina was next to be questioned. Dr. Medina was on duty at the hospital when Phillips County Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Lytle brought Deputy Guderjahn into the emergency room the morning of the 27th .

"(Guderjahn came in) with several severe, life threatening stab wounds on his arm, left elbow and left wrist, left cheek, clavicle and his head," Dr. Medina said. "We had to sew him up, both external and internal."

Dr. Medina said Deputy Guderjahn's status when arriving at the hospital was critical, with a lot of blood loss, and the deputy was given two units of blood.

"If he had not stopped at our critical access hospital, he wouldn't be here today," Dr. Medina said. "Three units would really be pushing it to the edge, you'd have to have your guardian angle on board ...two units (lost) is life threatening."

After attending to his wounds, Dr. Medina sent Deputy Guderjahn to Great Falls via air ambulance. Dr. Medina said Deputy Guderjahn had been stabbed eight times total and the jury was shown 12 different photographs of Deputy Guderjahn's injuries.

The third witness of the day was Deborah Goep, an officer for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, who said that she came into contact with Mecklenburg on July 25, two days before he died. Goep said she received a call about an adult male walking, both north and south, along Highway 191 near mile marker 77. She said after a brief conversation with Mecklenburg, she let him know she had received calls about a male walking along the highway with a gun. Mecklenburg was not carrying the weapon – at some point he had laid it down in tall weeds along the road – but let Goep know he did have a pocketknife in his pocket. Goep said when she questioned Mecklenburg about why he was walking along the highway his answers weren't very coherent but he did say that his truck had broken down. Goep said Mecklenburg seemed confused and she thought maybe he was suffering from dehydration as the temperatures at the time climbed into the 90's.

"But he was very polite and responsive when I asked him to do things," Goep said.

Goep helped Mecklenburg contact his father who said he would come pick his son up. Goep took Mecklenburg to his truck and was joined by a deputy from Fergus County and returned to the site where she first met up with Mecklenburg and found the weapon in the weeds.

Goep said she had no further contact with Mecklenburg, but a co-worker did. The next day, July 26, Mecklenburg showed up at the Sand Creek Field Station just above the Missouri River. Goep's co-worker saw Mecklenburg through the office window and watched as he walked toward the office before turning around, heading back to his truck where he retrieved a rifle, shouldered the weapon and headed back up the walkway to the office.

"He came into the conference room with the rifle and confronted (the co-worker) at that time," Goep said. "Ambrose wanted to know where I was and he wanted to know if I had his gun and said he wanted it back."

The co-worker said that Mecklenburg "was agitated and shuffling his feet" and tried to hand the co-worker a Bible and talk to him about religion before leaving the office. Goep said that she alerted both Phillips County and Fergus County Deputies about what had taken place and that Fergus County was in possession of Mecklenburg's gun (found in the weeds the day before.)

The next two witnesses' most recent contact with Mecklenburg came in Broadview and Sheppard, Mont., the first a co-worker and roommate, the later an acquaintance. Dakotah Nelson worked with Mecklenburg at a Broadview company and the two lived together in the same home. Nelson said that Mecklenburg was acting very paranoid on the night of Monday, July 24, and "looked jittery" and "was on something." The next morning, Nelson said Mecklenburg was sitting in their home with a rifle slung across his back and he still seemed "paranoid." Nelson also said that earlier in the week Mecklenburg had been aggressive with both his mother and himself.

"He scared her with a pistol," Nelson said.

Nelson said Mecklenburg had talked about Mecklenburg's use of the drug "Molly" – MDMA or Ecstasy – and marijuana and Nelson felt Mecklenburg had taken crystal meth or LSD earlier in the month at a music festival.

"He never really slept all that often that last week," Nelson said.

Nathan Pierce became an acquaintance with Mecklenburg through Nelson. Pierce testified that Mecklenburg showed up at his residence in Sheppard early on the morning of July 26 with a rifle and looked "very agitated and he didn't seem to be very coherent in what he was saying."

"He kept shaking a Bible, telling me I need to talk to you, I need to talk to you," Pierce said. "I told him 'Ambrose, I am happy to talk to you but I would prefer you take your deer rifle and put it in your truck."

Pierce said Mecklenburg started off the porch with the rifle before turning around and letting Pierce know he wasn't going to put the rifle away. Pierce again asked Mecklenburg to discard the rifle and told him he'd have to leave if he didn't. Mecklenburg walked back to the porch, reached into his pocket and brought out a knife. Pierce said Mecklenburg swung the knife at Pierce and Pierce closed the door. Pierce retrieved his own knife to defend himself and watched through a window to see Mecklenburg swinging his weapon at Pierce's dog. Pierce opened his front door and shouted at Mecklenburg. Mecklenburg turned back toward Pierce, aimed his rifle at him and Pierce once again closed the door. Mecklenburg fled in his truck and Pierce called both Nelson and Mecklenburg's father. In his conversation with Nelson, Pierce said the two decided that if Mecklenburg had any interaction with any law enforcement that he would either "probably kill a police officer" or wind up getting himself killed. Pierce again called Mecklenburg's father and Mecklenburg's father said he thought his son was having a mental breakdown and he would take his son's weapons away as soon as he saw him. Pierce said that he did not call the police to report the incident for fear that Mecklenburg would turn violent.

Kyle Mitchell said that he attended school with Mecklenburg and was in local organizations with him in Malta as the two grew up. He said that on Tuesday, July 26, he was swathing some hay for neighbors when Mecklenburg pulled up in his truck about mid-day in southern Phillips County. Mitchell said he and Mecklenburg started talking and Mecklenburg had something "very important" to talk about. The two met at the end of the field, Mecklenburg with his rifle slung on his back.

"He knew he was talking kind of crazy and how his mind wasn't making any sense," Mitchell said.

Mecklenburg talked of his marijuana use in Billings and how he had tried LSD, according to Mitchell. Mecklenburg said that following the LSD ingestion that he had started feeling like he was living in the video game Call of Duty's Zombie Mode in which zombies attack humans.

"He felt like (zombies) were kind of coming after him apparently," Mitchell said. "He told me to make sure and get a gun to protect myself ... He was acting paranoid."

Mecklenburg told Mitchell that he had seen zombies at the CMR Refuge and added that he had driven into the refuge to give people Bibles.

"He said one of the people in (the refuge) was a zombie, but that nobody else could see it," Mitchell said, adding that Mecklenburg wanted to go into the woods and hide from the zombies. Mitchell said the two talked for about 45 minutes and at the end of the conversation, Mitchell told Mecklenburg to go home and get some rest.

Brandt Harold is a route driver for the Billings Gazette and frequently makes trips to and from Malta dropping off bundles of the newspaper. On the morning of July 27, Harold came across Mecklenburg on Highway 191 between mile markers 122 and 123 at about 3 a.m. Harold said he came around the corner near mile marker 121 and Mecklenburg was standing in the middle of the road with his hand outstretched asking the driver to stop. Harold stopped and talked with Mecklenburg.

"He said 'I am going to be frank with you, I've been using drugs pretty heavy and I don't even know where I am at'," Harold testified.

Harold said Mecklenburg was wearing only his "briefs and socks" and asked the newspaper delivery driver for a ride, telling Harold he needed to head south. Harold grabbed an extra sweatshirt from the back of his van, threw it to Mecklenburg and told him to put it on and he'd be back. After leaving Mecklenburg, Harold called 911 and alerted them to Mecklenburg.

"You could tell he was confused," Harold said. "He didn't seem to know where he was at or have any understanding of what really was going on. He just knew he needed to go south."

Deputy Guderjahn, who has served with the Phillips County Sheriff's Office for 17 years, said during his shift on July 26, he was informed that a young man had been in the area, acting strange and he may be headed to Malta as it was his hometown.

Deputy Guderjahn found out the man in question was Ambrose Mecklenburg who the deputy had known since "he was a little guy" and said he is friends with the family. Deputy Guderjahn got off shift at 3 a.m. the next morning and headed home. He was about to go to bed when he got a call from Phillips County Sheriff's Office dispatch informing him that a young man was walking down the roadway wearing nothing but his socks and underwear.

"I figured it must be Ambrose," Deputy Guderjahn said. "I put my gear back on, put my vest on and jumped in the truck and headed south."

Deputy Guderjahn said he traveled throughout the area looking for Mecklenburg and came across Mecklenburg's truck, but he wasn't there. Deputy Guderjahn continued to look for Mecklenburg, going down some side roads off the highway, before turning back and going to the truck. Deputy Guderjahn saw that there was a box of rifle cartridges ripped open and laying on the truck's seat. Deputy Guderjahn got back in his vehicle and started to head back to the north, calling dispatch in the process to let them know he couldn't find Mecklenburg.

"I got down the road about 200 yards and observed an individual walking down the middle of the south bound lane towards me," Deputy Guderjahn said. "I radioed dispatch back and said 'I got him'."

Deputy Guderjahn approached Mecklenburg and the attack and shooting followed.

Deputy Guderjahn said when he heard the report that Mecklenburg was acting strange, his intent throughout the day was to find him and get him medical attention. Recounting being attacked by Mecklenburg, Deputy Guderjahn said he assumed – because of how Mecklenburg was dressed – that he wasn't carrying a weapon.

"He just had this crazy look on his face," Deputy Guderjahn said.

Deputy Guderjahn said he deployed his Taser and was stabbed in the face, near his eye, and he said he thought he was blinded. He said while he was blocking Mecklenburg's knife attacks he was able to grab his weapon out of his holster. While the stabbing continued, Deputy Guderjahn fired a shot and knew he had missed. He shot four more times and wasn't sure where the shots went before the two men ended up on the ground.

"Once we hit the ground, I ended up on top of him basically in his lap," Deputy Guderjahn said.

Deputy Guderjahn said Mecklenburg continue to stab him and he shot his attacker in the chest. Another stab was administered before Deputy Guderjahn pointed the gun under Mecklenburg's chin and fired the fatal shot.

"He kind of looked at me with this look of peace on his face and laid down," Deputy Guderjahn said.

County Attorney Amestoy asked Deputy Guderjahn if he felt it was Mecklenburg's intention to kill him that night. Deputy Guderjahn said he did.

County Attorney Amestoy asked Deputy Guderjahn if he had any other choice besides killing Mecklenburg after the Taser had no effect.

"It had no effect on him," Deputy Guderjahn said. "None."

Dr. Robert Kurtzman, a forensic pathologist and the State Medical Examiner for Montana, testified that the gunshot wounds Mecklenburg died from were sustained at a close range of fire and of the seven gunshot wounds, only one was instantly incapacitating.

"The first six wounds I described (in his report) none of those gunshot wounds struck any vital structures or organs and so none of them were incapacitating or instantly fatal," Dr. Kurtzman said. "(Mecklenburg) would have been able to engage in purposeful activity after sustaining any and or all of those gunshot wounds."

"For example, a purposeful activity would have been for Mr. Mecklenburg to continue struggling or fighting with the officer after those other wounds, correct?" Attorney Amestoy asked.

"Absolutely," Dr. Kurtzman answered.

Dr. Kurtzman also noted that Mecklenburg received injuries from a Taser, one Taser barb was imbedded in Mecklenburg's sweatshirt and did not reach his skin, the other Taser barb went through the shirt and into the skin. Dr. Kurtzman also noted that Mecklenburg had some of the wires from the Taser leads clutched in his hand.

Deputy Guderjahn attempted to stop the bleeding from the stabs wounds and eventually the two route drivers stopped at the scene to assist the deputy (Harold, from Billings, and a Sysco driver.) Deputy Guderjahn, who became emotional when retelling the story, said that no one wants to take a life, but said he has been trained to protect himself and get home to his family each night.

"When I was out on the highway bleeding, I kept telling myself, over and over again, 'you're not dying out here on this damn highway, you're going home'," Deputy Guderjahn said. "I thought of a million different things that could have happened that night differently, but it happened this way for what reason I don't know . . . but that is not going to change anything and we are here."

On his way back from Malta to Billings, Harold, the Billings Gazette driver, got back to the site where he had earlier talked with Mecklenburg and noticed police lights. He exited his van and saw Deputy Guderjahn who was bleeding from the knife wounds.

"Alan said he wouldn't stop (attacking)," said Harold. "I kind of got my bearings and noticed the Taser laying on the ground and Ambrose laying over towards the ditch and then that is when I started helping Alan address his wounds."

The Sysco driver stopped at the scene and the two helped Deputy Guderjahn. Shortly after that, Deputy Lytle arrived, put Deputy Guderjahn in his cruiser and drove back to Malta to the hospital. Guderjahn asked Harold and the other driver to put an emergency blanket over Mecklenburg's body and to make sure that no one touch anything at the scene.

Deputy Lytle said when he arrived, Deputy Guderjahn was covered in blood and his head was bandaged. Deputy Lytle drove north to meet an ambulance, passing Sheriff Moran who was driving south to the scene.

Sheriff Moran arrived at the scene just before day break and secured the scene. Sheriff Moran retrieved the camera from Deputy Guderjahn's vest and asked Deputy Lytle to remove the camera from the the vehicle's dashboard cam.

Due to this incident of an officer involved shooting the State of Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation was immediately contacted by Sheriff Moran and agents later arrived on scene and took control of the investigation.

The day after the Corner's Inquest decision, Deputy Guderjahn told the PCN he wanted to thank everyone in the community for all of their support after the incident and thanked everyone who attended the prayer vigil held for Mecklenburg and himself.

"The support has been tremendous," he said. "It has really been awesome."

About 40 people were in attendance during the inquest including family members of both Deputy Guderjahn and Mecklenburg. Coroner Richard J. Brown from Fergus County led the inquest and Phillips County Attorney Ed Amestoy questioned a total of 12 witnesses – including Deputy Guderjahn -- during the four hour process. At the beginning of the day, Coroner Brown explained that a Corner's Inquest is a formal inquiry into the circumstances and causes involved in the death of a person caused by a police officer as required by Montana Code Annotated He said an outside, independent coroner is brought in to run the proceedings to avoid any conflict of interest.

In the early morning of July 27, Deputy Guderjahn approached Mecklenburg south of Malta on Highway 191 between mile markers 122 and 123, according to court testimony. Jurors were shown two videos of the altercation between Deputy Guderjahn and Mecklenburg that morning – the first recorded by the body camera worn by the deputy and the second from the dashboard camera on the deputy's truck. Phillips County Sheriff Moran said body cameras have started being used in Phillips County this year and then showed the jury how the camera works and explained that the sound recording is delayed when the record button is turned on.

As the video rolled without sound, the footage shows a man clothed in a sweatshirt and socks approach Deputy Guderjahn on foot on the highway.

"You are out here with no clothes on, man," Deputy Guderjahn said.

The man, Mecklenburg, says something inaudible and Deputy Guderjahn said "you can't do that" referring to walking around with almost no clothes on.

"How about if I give you a ride," said Guderjahn.

"How about not," said Mecklenburg.

"I have to give you a ride," said Deputy Guderjahn.

"Why?" Mecklenburg asks.

"For your safety," Deputy Guderjahn responds.

Mecklenburg then tells Deputy Guderjahn that he is "fine now" and Deputy Guderjahn again says he wants to give the man a ride.

"You wann'a give me a ride, huh?" Mecklenburg said before lunging forward armed with a pocketknife and striking the officer. Deputy Guderjahn takes a blow to his head and the sound of his police Taser can be heard firing. Another stab from Mecklenburg manages to hit the button on the deputy's body camera and the recording stops.

Upon watching the video a second time, Sheriff Moran points out when Mecklenburg pulled the knife from inside of the sweatshirt's pocket he is wearing before attacking Deputy Guderjahn.

The next video shown to the jury is from the dashboard camera from Deputy Guderjahn's vehicle.

"In the car camera, the video points forward the whole time and everything happens off to the side of the vehicle," Sheriff Moran explained before the video played. Sheriff Moran said that the dashboard camera also has a microphone. At one point in the second video, the deputy's car shakes as Mecklenburg and Deputy Guderjahn struggle and bounce off of the front of the truck before the sound of Guderjahn's weapon firing. Deputy Guderjahn then reenters his vehicle, breathing heavily, and calls dispatch.

"Get me help now," he says.

"Right away," a dispatcher replies.

The jury was then shown several pictures taken by Sheriff Moran at the scene, one of which shows Mecklenburg laying on his back with a knife in his hand.

Deputy Guderjahn was the final witness of the day, but before him testimony from witnesses told of a troubled young man who was suffering from paranoia and was using illicit drugs. Mecklenburg's journey started in the towns of Broadview and Shepard and moved north to Malta, Mecklenburg's hometown, before he attacked the sheriff's deputy and was killed.

County Attorney Amestoy's first expert witness was Scott Larson, Toxicology Supervisor from the Montana State Crime Lab. Larson stated that a toxicology test was performed on Mecklenburg following his death and the only illicit drug detected was Hydroxy THC, the inactive metabolite of marijuana. Larson said that Deputy Guderjahn was also given a toxicology test which came back negative. Though the toxicology test didn't show signs of other drugs, Mecklenburg admitted to others (who would testify during the day) he had been using drugs. Larson admitted that not all drug use is found during a toxicology report.

Phillips County Hospital's Dr. Edwin Medina was next to be questioned. Dr. Medina was on duty at the hospital when Phillips County Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Lytle brought Deputy Guderjahn into the emergency room the morning of the 27th .

"(Guderjahn came in) with several severe, life threatening stab wounds on his arm, left elbow and left wrist, left cheek, clavicle and his head," Dr. Medina said. "We had to sew him up, both external and internal."

Dr. Medina said Deputy Guderjahn's status when arriving at the hospital was critical, with a lot of blood loss, and the deputy was given two units of blood.

"If he had not stopped at our critical access hospital, he wouldn't be here today," Dr. Medina said. "Three units would really be pushing it to the edge, you'd have to have your guardian angle on board ...two units (lost) is life threatening."

After attending to his wounds, Dr. Medina sent Deputy Guderjahn to Great Falls via air ambulance. Dr. Medina said Deputy Guderjahn had been stabbed eight times total and the jury was shown 12 different photographs of Deputy Guderjahn's injuries.

The third witness of the day was Deborah Goep, an officer for the US Fish, Wildlife Service, who said that she came into contact with Mecklenburg on July 25, two days before he died. Goep said she received a call about an adult male walking, both north and south, along Highway 191 near mile marker 77. She said after a brief conversation with Mecklenburg, she let him know she had received calls about a male walking along the highway with a gun. Mecklenburg was not carrying the weapon – at some point he had laid it down in tall weeds along the road – but let Gope know he did have a pocketknife in his pocket. Gope said when she questioned Mecklenburg about why he was walking along the highway his answers weren't very coherent but he did say that his truck had broken down. Gope said Mecklenburg seemed confused and she thought maybe he was suffering from dehydration as the temperatures at the time climbed into the 90's.

"But he was very polite and responsive when I asked him to do things," Gope said.

Gope helped Mecklenburg contact his father who said he would come pick his son up. Gope took Mecklenburg to his truck and was joined by a deputy from Fergus County and returned to the site where she first met up with Mecklenburg and found the weapon in the weeds.

Gope said she had no further contact with Mecklenburg, but a co-worker did. The next day, July 26, Mecklenburg showed up at the Sand Creek Field Station just above the Missouri River. Gope's co-worker saw Mecklenburg through the office window and watched as he walked toward the office before turning around, heading back to his truck where he retrieved a rifle, shouldered the weapon and headed back up the walkway to the office.

"He came into the conference room with the rifle and confronted (the co-worker) at that time," Gope said. "Ambrose wanted to know where I was and he wanted to know if I had his gun and said he wanted it back."

The co-worker said that Mecklenburg "was agitated and shuffling his feet" and tried to hand the co-worker a Bible and talk to him about religion before leaving the office. Gope said that she alerted both Phillips County and Fergus County Deputies about what had taken place and that Fergus County was in possession of Mecklenburg's gun (found in the weeds the day before.)

The next two witnesses' most recent contact with Mecklenburg came in Broadview and Shepard, Mont., the first a co-worker and roommate, the later an acquaintance. Dakotah Nelson worked with Mecklenburg at a Broadview company and the two lived together in the same home. Nelson said that Mecklenburg was acting very paranoid on the night of Monday, July 24, and "looked jittery" and "was on something." The next morning, Nelson said Mecklenburg was sitting in their home with a rifle slung across his back and he still seemed "paranoid." Nelson also said that earlier in the week Mecklenburg had been aggressive with both his mother and himself.

"He scared her with a pistol," Nelson said.

Nelson said Mecklenburg had talked about Mecklenburg's use of the drug "Molly" – MDMA or Ecstasy – and marijuana and Nelson felt Mecklenburg had taken crystal meth or LSD earlier in the month at a music festival.

"He never really slept all that often that last week," Nelson said.

Nathan Pierce became an acquaintance with Mecklenburg through Nelson. Pierce testified that Mecklenburg showed up at his residence in Shepard early on the morning of July 26 with a rifle and looked "very agitated and he didn't seem to be very coherent in what he was saying."

"He kept shaking a Bible, telling me I need to talk to you, I need to talk to you," Pierce said. "I told him 'Ambrose, I am happy to talk to you but but I would prefer you take your deer rifle and put it in your truck."

Pierce said Mecklenburg started off the porch with the rifle before turning around and letting Pierce know he wasn't going to put the rifle away. Pierce again asked Mecklenburg to discard the rifle and told him he'd have to leave if he didn't. Mecklenburg walked back to the porch, reached into his pocket and brought out a knife. Pierce said Mecklenburg swung the knife at Pierce and Pierce closed the door. Pierce retrieved his own knife to defend himself and watched through a window to see Mecklenburg swinging his weapon at Pierce's dog. Pierce opened his front door and shouted at Mecklenburg. Mecklenburg turned back toward Pierce, aimed his rifle at him and Pierce once again closed the door. Mecklenburg fled in his truck and Pierce called both Nelson and Mecklenburg's father. In his conversation with Nelson, Pierce said the two decided that if Mecklenburg had any interaction with any law enforcement that he would either "probably kill a police officer" or wind up getting himself killed. Pierce again called Mecklenburg's father and Mecklenburg's father said he thought his son was having a mental breakdown and he would take his son's weapons away as soon as he saw him. Pierce said that he did not call the police to report the incident for fear that Mecklenburg would turn violent.

Kyle Mitchell said that he attended school with Mecklenburg and was in local organizations with him in Malta as the two grew up. He said that on Tuesday, July 26, he was swathing some hay for neighbors when Mecklenburg pulled up on in his truck about mid-day in southern Phillips County. Mitchell said he and Mecklenburg started talking and Mecklenburg had something "very important" to talk about. The two met at the end of the field, Mecklenburg with his rifle slung on his back.

"He knew he was talking kind of crazy and how his mind wasn't making any sense," Mitchell said.

Mecklenburg talked of his marijuana use in Billings and how he had tried LSD, according to Mitchell. Mecklenburg said that following the LSD ingestion that he had started feeling like he was living in the video game Call of Duty's Zombie Mode in which zombies attack humans.

"He felt like (zombies) were kind of coming after him apparently," Mitchell said. "He told me to make sure and get a gun to protect myself ... He was acting paranoid."

Mecklenburg told Mitchell that he had seen zombies at the CMR Refuge and added that he had driven into the refuge to give people Bibles.

"He said one of the people in (the refuge) was a zombie, but that nobody else could see it," Mitchell said, adding that Mecklenburg wanted to go into the woods and hide from the zombies. Mitchell said the two talked for about 45 minutes and at the end of the conversation, Mitchell told Mecklenburg to go home and get some rest.

Brandt Harold is a route driver for the Billings Gazette and frequently makes trips to and from Malta dropping off bundles of the newspaper. On the morning of July 27, Harold came across Mecklenburg on Highway 191 between mile markers 122 and 123 at about 3 a.m. Harold said he came around the corner near mile marker 121 and Mecklenburg was standing in the middle of the road with his hand outstretched asking the driver to stop. Harold stopped and talked with Mecklenburg.

"He said 'I am going to be frank with you, I've been using drugs pretty heavy and I don't even know where I am at'," Harold testified.

Harold said Mecklenburg was wearing only his "briefs and socks" and asked Mecklenburg for a ride, telling Harold he needed to head south. Mecklenburg grabbed an extra sweatshirt from the back of his van, threw it to Mecklenburg and told him to put it on and he'd be back. After leaving Mecklenburg, Harold called 911 and alerted them to Mecklenburg.

"You could tell he was confused," Harold said. "He didn't seem to know where he was at or have any understanding of what really was going on. He just knew he needed to go south."

Deputy Guderjahn, who has served with the Phillips County Sheriff's Office for 17 years, said during his shift on July 26, he was informed that a young man had been in the area, acting strange and he may be headed to Malta as it was his hometown.

Deputy Guderjahn found out the man in question was Ambrose Mecklenburg who the deputy had known since "he was a little guy" and said he is friends with the family. Deputy Guderjahn got off shift at 3 a.m. the next morning and headed home. He was about to go to bed when he got a call from Phillips County Sheriff's Office dispatch informing him that a young man was walking down the roadway wearing nothing but his socks and underwear.

"I figured it must be Ambrose," Deputy Guderjahn said. "I put my gear back on, put my vest on and jumped in the truck and headed south."

Deputy Guderjahn said he traveled throughout the area looking for Mecklenburg and came across Mecklenburg's truck, but he wasn't there. Deputy Guderjahn continued to look for Mecklenburg, going down some side roads off the highway, before turning back and going to the truck. Deputy Guderjahn saw that there was a box of rifle cartridges ripped open and laying on the truck's seat. Deputy Guderjahn got back in his vehicle and started to head back to the north, calling dispatch in the process to let them know he couldn't find Mecklenburg.

"I got down the road about 200 yards and observed an individual walking down the middle of the south bound lane towards me," Deputy Guderjahn said. "I radioed dispatch back and said 'I got him'."

Deputy Guderjahn approached Mecklenburg and the attack and shooting followed.

Deputy Guderjahn said when he heard the report that Mecklenburg was acting strange, his intent throughout the day was to find him and get him medical attention. Recounting being attacked by Mecklenburg, Deputy Guderjahn said he assumed – because of how Mecklenburg was dressed – that he wasn't carrying a weapon.

"He just had this crazy look on his face," Deputy Guderjahn said.

Deputy Guderjahn said he deployed his Taser and was stabbed in the face, near his eye, and he said he thought he was blinded. He said while he was blocking Mecklenburg's knife attacks he was able to grab his weapon out of his holster. While the stabbing continued, Deputy Guderjahn fired a shot and knew he had missed. He shot four more times and wasn't sure where the shots went before the two men ended up on the ground.

"Once we hit the ground, I ended up on top of him basically in his lap," Deputy Guderjahn said.

Deputy Guderjahn said Mecklenburg continue to stab him and he shot his attacker in the chest. Another stab was administered before Deputy Guderjahn pointed the gun under Mecklenburg's chin and fired the fatal shot.

"He kind of looked at me with this look of peace on his face and laid down," Deputy Guderjahn said.

County Attorney Amestoy asked Deputy Guderjahn if he felt it was Mecklenburg's intention to kill him that night. Deputy Guderjahn said he did.

County Attorney Amestoy asked Deputy Guderjahn if he had any other choice besides killing Mecklenburg after the Taser had no effect.

"It had no effect on him," Deputy Guderjahn said. "None."

Dr. Robert Kurtzman, a forensic pathologist and the State Medical Examiner for Montana, testified that the gunshot wounds Mecklenburg died from were sustained at a close range of fire and of the seven gunshot wounds, only one was instantly incapacitating.

"The first six wounds I described (in his report) none of those gunshot wounds struck any vital structures or organs and so none of them were incapacitating or instantly fatal," Dr. Kurtzman said. "(Mecklenburg) would have been able to engage in purposeful activity after sustaining any and or all of those gunshot wounds."

"For example, a purposeful activity would have been for Mr. Mecklenburg to continue struggling or fighting with the officer after those other wounds, correct?" Attorney O'Brien asked.

"Absolutely," Dr. Kurtzman answered.

Dr. Kurtzman also noted that Mecklenburg received injuries from a Taser, one Taser barb was imbedded in Mecklenburg's sweatshirt and did not reach his skin, the other Taser barb went through the shirt and into the skin. Dr. Kurtzman also noted that Mecklenburg had some of the wires from the Taser leads clutched in his hand.

Deputy Guderjahn attempted to stop the bleeding from the stabs wounds and eventually the two route drivers stopped at the scene to assist the deputy(Harold, from Billings, and a Sysco driver.) Deputy Guderjahn, who became emotional when retelling the story, said that no one wants to take a life, but said he has been trained to protect himself and get home to his family each night.

"When I was out on the highway bleeding, I kept telling myself, over and over again, 'you're not dying out here on this damn highway, you're going home'," Deputy Guderjahn said. "I thought of a million different things that could have happened that night differently, but it happened this way for what reason I don't know . . . but that is not going to change anything and we are here."

On his way back from Malta to Billings, Harold, the Billings Gazette driver, got back to the site where he had talked with Mecklenburg and noticed police lights. He exited his van and saw Deputy Guderjahn who was bleeding from the knife wounds.

"Alan said he wouldn't stop," said Harold. "I kind of got my bearings and noticed the Taser laying on the ground and Ambrose laying over towards the ditch and then that is when I started helping Alan address his wounds."

The Sysco driver stopped at the scene and the two helped Deputy Guderjahn. Shortly after that, Deputy Lytle arrived, put Deputy Guderjahn in his cruiser and drove back to Malta to the hospital. Guderjahn asked Harold and the other driver to put an emergency blanket over Mecklenburg's body and to make sure that no one touch anything at the scene.

Deputy Lytle said when he arrived, Deputy Guderjahn was covered in blood and his head was bandaged. Deputy Lytle drove north to meet an ambulance, passing Sheriff Moran who was driving south to the scene.

Sheriff Moran arrived at the scene just before day break and secured the scene. Sheriff Moran retrieved the camera from Deputy Guderjahn's vest and asked Deputy Lytle to remove the camera from the the vehicle's dashboard cam.

Due to this incident an officer involved shooting the State of Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation was immediately contacted by Sheriff Moran and agents later arrived on scene and took control of the investigation.