Sellner denied parole
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DEER LODGE — Gordon D. Sellner, 73, was denied parole on Aug. 30 before the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole at the Montana State Prison near Deer Lodge.
On its website, the board said Sellner’s release at this time would diminish the severity of the offense and the affect on the community.
The Sellner case was one of the most well-known cases in Lake County according to Lake County Undersheriff Karey Reynolds.
A well-know anti-government activist, Sellner bragged about not paying taxes for 30 years. Although the IRS put a claim on Sellner’s 5.2-acre property, it has never been seized.
Sellner was convicted on attempted deliberate homicide and sentenced to life in prison for the June 27, 1992, shooting of Missoula County Deputy Robert Parcell following a traffic stop along Highway 83. Parcell was wearing a bulletproof vest and recovered, but Sellner was on the lam for three years before he was apprehended on July 18, 1995, at his home in Condon. Although law enforcement knew where Sellner was located, they wanted to arrest him without incident.
“Sellner was known to carry an AR-15 assault rifle to the sawmill,” Reynolds added.
Sellner and a law enforcement officer exchanged gunfire on July 18, and Sellner was shot and wounded in the gunfight.
Missoula County Sheriff Carl Ibsen, Deputy Robert Parcell and Reynolds as well as family and friends of Sellner were present for the parole hearing.
Reynolds said Sellner believed in God’s law, that God would judge him not man’s law. Sellner thought the shooting incident was wrong and apologized for the incident but did not apologize for shooting Parcell.
Sellner can reappear before the Board of Pardons and Parole in five years.
