Casino robbery leads to high-speed chase

The bond for two men suspected of robbing a Libby casino Friday was set at $500,000 during their initial appearance Monday afternoon in justice court.

Michael James Davis, 37, and his uncle David Redford, 50, of Moyie Springs, Idaho have been held in the county jail since allegedly robbing the Lucky Logger Casino for less than $1,000 on Friday evening and leading authorities on a 30-mile high-speed chase through Libby and Troy.

A casino employee called 911 at 7:30 Friday night and reported the robbery, explaining that a man revealed a gun and demanded money, and then left in a blue Ford Taurus, according to sheriff reports and an officer affidavit filed in justice court. The employee said that another man in a baseball cap was driving.

The casino was nearly full of customers and three employee witnesses, according to Terry Watson of the Libby Police Department.

Redford told police that he drove Davis away from the casino and then stopped the vehicle at McDonald’s to trade seats, according to court documents.

Watson spotted the men’s vehicle heading west onto Highway 2 from Louisiana Avenue just seconds after dispatch received a report of the casino robbery. Watson said he activated his lights at California Avenue, but the vehicle kept heading west on Highway 2.

“Once we got to Rosauers, the other traffic saw my lights and pulled over,” Watson said. “It opened up the highway to them and off we went.”

The suspects’ vehicle was approaching 100 mph at the end of the four lanes west of Libby, Watson said. It passed the Kootenai Falls turnout in excess of 120 mph and then crossed stop sticks that had been laid out by the Montana Highway Patrol before the weigh station outside Troy. Stop sticks, a set of hollow nails that cause the air to leak slowly out of the tires, caused one tire to go flat.

“As they passed the weigh scales, the driver’s side front tire was lost,” Watson said. “So from the weigh scales to the end of the chase, he was on three tires and one rim.”

That didn’t stop the vehicle from blasting through Troy at 80-90 mph, Watson said. The driver began to lose control about six miles outside the state border, Watson said, but continued on for another four miles until the driver finally pulled over.

Watson, sheriff deputies, highway patrol, a Troy Police officer and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement all assisted in pursuit of the vehicle.

Davis was in the driver’s seat and had an empty gun holster around his shoulder and a wad of cash in his pocket, according to the police affidavit. More cash and a handgun surfaced in the passenger’s side glove box after a search of the vehicle.

Watson is happy that no one was hurt in the pursuit. He recalls a near miss at the intersection of Highway 2 and Three Corner Road outside Pamida. A minivan began to cross Highway 2 as the suspects’ vehicle ran a red light.

“The suspect’s vehicle had to swerve to the left to go around it,” Watson said. “If the suspect hadn’t have moved, the minivan would have hit the passenger side door of the suspect’s vehicle.”

Watson attributes the calm and alert behavior of casino employees as a factor in nabbing the two suspects.

“The Lucky Logger employees did an awesome job as far as the description (of the suspects) and the license plate,” Watson said. “They didn’t panic – they really did a good job.”

Watson said that authorities have a strong case, which includes good video surveillance inside the casino.

Davis is being held on a robbery charge and for allegedly violating the terms of his parole. His prior convictions date back to early 2002 and includes theft, forgery and drug distribution, according to the Montana Department of Corrections website. Redford faces charges of robbery by accountability.

At Redford’s initial appearance Monday, Justice Jay Sheffield read him his charge and asked him if he understood.

“Yes, but I didn’t do this,” he responded. He muttered the phrase two more times during the appearance.

Davis was somber during his initial appearance and only answered “Yes, sir” and “No, sir” to Sheffield.