Utah ‘mountain man’ on the lam for years sentenced to decade behind bars

Troy James Knapp, a survivalist who roamed the wilds of Utah for six years, evading law enforcement until he was trapped at a cabin and engaged in a shoot-out with police in 2013, has been sentenced to a decade in prison.

Called the “mountain man,” the 46-year-old survived during his roaming by stealing food and firearms, oftentimes by breaking into remote cabins, BBC reported. He was frequently compared to the 19th-century frontiersman Davy Crockett, BBC said.

But he was ultimately caught and apprehended in April 2013, after engaging in a shoot-out with law enforcement agents in a cabin on Ferron Mountain, miles south of Salt Lake City.

In court, prosecutor Brody Keisel called Mr. Knapp a “common crook,” BBC reported. Mr. Knapp’s attorney, however, painted a different picture.

“There is an admiration for somebody who chooses to live off the land, because he does it while the rest of us wouldn’t,” said defense attorney Jay Winward, in St. George court, BBC reported. “Even if he needs a little help from some cabin owners.”

In a plea bargain, Mr. Knapp admitted burglary and firearms offenses — for shooting it out with police — and received 10½ years in prison.