Posted: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 2:00 am | Updated: 8:04 pm, Mon Dec 27, 2010.
By Eric Schwartz/The Daily Inter Lake |
The man accused of gunning down a woman and her daughter on Christmas Day in a driveway west of Kalispell will be held without bail after an initial appearance Monday in Flathead County District Court.
Tyler Michael Miller, 34, was led into the courtroom — his blue jail garb bulging because of a bulletproof vest underneath — as the command staff of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement officials looked on.
Miller stared intently at Butch Hurlbert and mouthed several words before taking a seat.
Butch Hurlbert is the father of 35-year-old Jaimi Hurlbert and grandfather of 15-year-old Alyssa Burkett, the victims of Saturday’s double homicide.
Judge Stewart Stadler advised Miller of two charges of deliberate homicide against him and scheduled an arraignment for Jan. 13.
Deputy County Attorney Alison Howard asked that Miller — who in 2009 had his last name legally changed from Cheetham — be held without bond after Stadler initially set bail at $1 million.
She said prosecutors are considering the death penalty for Miller after he allegedly admitted carrying out the murders.
Stadler asked Miller if he would have the ability to bail himself out.
“Absolutely not,” Miller said. “If I did, I’m not interested.”
Relatives of Jaimi Hurlbert say that Miller and Hurlbert have a 17-month-old daughter, but Hurlbert had ended their relationship about two months ago. The end of the relationship caused Miller to act erratically and aggressively, according to family members.
Miller was arrested Saturday almost two hours after a 911 call from his mother, Cindy Regnier, on Block Crest Court west of Kalispell. A responding sheriff’s deputy found Hurlbert dead at the scene while Burkett was clinging to life, suffering from a bullet wound in her back. She later died after being transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
Miller was found in an vacant trailer on Ashley Hills Road about a mile from where he allegedly abandoned a stolen pickup truck. Law officers followed footprints in the snow from the vehicle to the trailer where Miller was arrested without incident.
Sheriff Mike Meehan said Monday that Miller exhibited signs of intoxication when he was placed in custody, but the sheriff could not confirm reports that Miller was high on methamphetamine.
Monday’s court appearance was the latest in a string of events that began early Friday morning when the Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance at a home in Evergreen.
A caller reported that Miller was pounding on the front door of a home and looking for Jaimi Hurlbert, who was not at the residence.
Meehan confirmed that a deputy found Miller walking down a nearby road at 5:28 a.m. The woman who reported the disturbance did not want to press charges and the deputy determined that Miller was banging on the door but not trying to gain access, Meehan said.
Miller was given a ride home in a patrol car, Meehan said, adding that there was no evidence a crime had been committed.
Hurlbert’s father contacted the Sheriff’s Office less than two hours later at about 7:10 a.m. Friday. He reported receiving a telephone call from Miller, who allegedly left a voice-mail threatening Butch Hurlbert.
Meehan said a responding deputy took a recording of the message, which later was forwarded to the Flathead County Attorney’s Office where an arrest warrant would have been considered.
Friday, though, was a government holiday and both District Court and Justice Court were closed, slowing what might have been a faster process, Meehan said.
“I can honestly say that my officers did everything they could possibly do at the time with what they had to work with,” Meehan said.
Later Friday, Jaimi Hurlbert filed a harassment report at the Kalispell Police Department before heading in to work at the Scoreboard Pub and Casino. According to dispatch logs, she said that Miller had threatened to kill “her, her family, her friends and himself.”
She said she was concerned Miller would confront her at work.
Several hours later, at about 11:30 p.m., Miller arrived at the Scoreboard Pub and Casino, according to employees and police reports.
Miller allegedly had entered the Woodland Park Drive business in pursuit of Hurlbert, who had been standing outside. Miller reportedly grabbed her phone — which later was found outside — and threatened Hurlbert and other people inside.
Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nassett said officers who arrived on the scene initially thought Miller was inside his vehicle parked nearby. The department’s armored vehicle — nicknamed BEAR — responded to the scene because Miller was believed to have a firearm.
Nasset said the bar was locked down for the safety of patrons and employees.
It was determined at 12:42 a.m. Saturday that Miller was not in the vehicle.
Nasset said the search didn’t stop there, and that officers — including himself — searched for Miller for three hours. His mother’s home on Block Crest Court — where Hurlbert and Burkett later were shot — was not checked because officers were not aware he might have fled there, Nasset said.
“I think the guys did everything they could,” Nasset said. “They tried to make arrangements for [Hurlbert] to go to a safe location, but she wouldn’t go to a shelter.”
Instead, Hurlbert went to her father’s house where she celebrated Christmas on Saturday morning with Burkett. Butch Hulbert said his daughter and Burkett went to pick up her infant daughter at Regnier’s house, where they ultimately were shot and killed.
“They got out of the car and were walking to the door,” Butch Hulbert said, citing conversations with law enforcement officials. “He [Miller] pushed the door open, shot Jaimi and shot Alyssa, then fled.”
Nasset said Jaimi Hurlbert previously had been advised to obtain a protection order or to press charges against Miller, but she had declined to do so.
“Even though you do everything you think you can do and give all the advice you can, people will still second-guess it,” Nasset said.
Relatives of Jaimi Hurlbert and her daughter have criticized the response of both the Sheriff’s Office and the Kalispell Police Department. They say Miller should have been arrested before he had a chance to carry out his threats to kill.
“This just shouldn’t have been allowed to happen,” Butch Hurlbert said.
Nasset said he understands the frustration of the family and in no way blames Jaimi Hurlbert for what transpired the day after the incident at the Scoreboard.
“Ultimately there is only one person to blame and that’s the suspect,” Nasset said.
Miller has a lengthy criminal history in the Flathead Valley dating back to June 1995 when he was convicted of burglary, theft and possession of dangerous drugs. For those crimes, he was sentenced to 60 months in prison by District Judge Ted Lympus.
According to court documents, before his 18th birthday, Miller had been convicted of about a dozen charges ranging from theft and methamphetamine possession to assault and resisting arrest.
In August 1998, he was convicted of criminal mischief in Flathead County District Court but received a suspended sentence.
His last conviction, according to the Montana Department of Corrections, was in August 2003 in Silver Bow County for escape. He was sentenced to a year in prison for that offense.
Miller was released from Montana State Prison in 2008 but was still on parole prior to his arrest Saturday.
Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com
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