March 29, 2017 - 6:22 PM
BILLINGS, Mont. - The Latest on a coroner's inquest into an officer-involved shooting at a Billings hotel (all times local):
7:20 p.m.
A jury has ruled that a police officer was justified when he shot and killed an armed man during a standoff at a Billings hotel.
The Billings Gazette reports (https://goo.gl/Umj89J ) jurors heard testimony Wednesday that 32-year-old Kyle Killough, of Gillette, Wyoming, was rambling, paranoid and had used methamphetamine before taking over the hotel's front desk area Oct. 27.
He was shot three times when he stood up and turned toward police with a pistol in his hand.
Killough's father, Gordon Killough, says his son made a terrible mistake "and paid for it with his life."
Coroner's inquests, which involve a jury, are required under Montana law whenever law enforcement is involved in a fatal shooting or someone dies in custody.
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4 a.m.
A formal inquest will be held in a Montana courtroom Wednesday to determine if a police officer was justified in the shooting death of a Wyoming man following a standoff in a hotel lobby.
Kyle Killough, 32, of Gillette, was killed in Billings on Oct. 27. Authorities say he was shot three times after refusing to drop a handgun and then turning toward officers with the weapon.
Coroner's inquests are required under Montana law whenever law enforcement is involved in a fatal shooting or someone dies in law enforcement custody.
A citizen jury will hear testimony and then make a recommendation on whether the shooting was justified. A final decision is up to prosecutors.
The inquest is expected to last one day.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017