A Ravalli County coroner's inquest conducted on Monday found that a fatal shooting by a sheriff's deputy was justified.

County Attorney Bill Fulbright said the shooting took place in March.

"It happened on March 6th, in which Hamilton resident Lonnie Gene Roberts was killed when he confronted Sheriff's Deputy Ted Wofford with a shotgun," Fulbright said. "We had the coroner's inquest today, a jury of 11 people heard the evidence and came to the conclusion that the shooting was justified. The jury only took about 15 minutes to deliberate before coming to their decision."

Fulbright said the decision brings closure to the incident for all involved.

"It took a long time to get the investigation into my office, about 44 days ago," he said. "We had to delay the hearing for one week due to some scheduling conflicts with witnesses, but t finally worked out."

Fulbright said he conducted the inquest, while Powell County Attorney John Pohle presided.

 

More From 96.3 The Blaze