A Montana man was accused of stealing a cellphone and shooting at a group of people after arguing with them over their noise levels in West Yellowstone, just outside Yellowstone National Park.
Brian Jones Marks, 47, faces a felony charge of robbery and three felony counts of assault with a weapon. Gallatin County Justice Court Judge Bryan Adams set his bail at $50,000, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.
In court on Tuesday, Marks' attorney George Isham asked for lower bail, to no avail. Marks did not enter a plea.
The 47-year-old turned himself in Monday after the shooting led law enforcement on a weekend-long investigation.
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The victims say Marks approached their group of three and told them they needed to leave because they were being too loud last Saturday. One of the victims says they told Marks they were "from here" and that he could leave. Marks cussed them out in response.
Marks then went to his truck, grabbed a pistol and pointed it at the victims, they say. He told them to "keep talking" and fired rounds into the sand around the victims' feet, according to court documents compiled by the Daily Chronicle.
Police said in the charging documents that the victims ran away to their cars as the man fired off more rounds of ammunition.
One of the victims said she tried calling 911 once she was in her car, but that Marks opened the door, pulled her out and stole her cellphone. The car was in reverse and rolled backward, hitting the car the other two victims were in.
Police say they found three shell casings and one spent slug at the scene of the crime. One of the victims told police that the man who shot at them left the scene in a silver Toyota truck with Texas license plates.
The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office had issued a news release after the incident alerting the public that a man who was armed and dangerous was on the run in the area.
There had been limited leads until Sunday, when law enforcement officials received a tip that led them to Marks. A detective used that tip to run Marks' name through a database, which found that he is the owner of a silver truck with Texas license plates.
The incident drew law enforcement agents from Idaho, Montana, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service.
Isham said Marks was in the state to work over the summer and that he previously had been honorably discharged from the Marine Corps.
Prosecutor Ashley Carroll said she was alarmed at Marks' behavior.
“There is a serious concern for the safety of the public there,” she said.
Carroll said Marks was prohibited from possessing or buying guns at the time of the shooting.
