BOZEMAN — As we reported Monday night, Zachary Norman, the man who shot and killed two brothers in January 2022 was sentenced to 110 years in the Montana State prison after being found guilty of deliberate homicide.
During the hearing, we learned the father of the two brothers snuck a shank into the courtroom with the intent to kill Norman out of revenge.
“There was a weapon located,” said Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer. “It had small metal pieces but nothing that couldn’t be easily hidden.”
It was an emotional Monday afternoon at the Law and Justice Center as the family of Brendan and Chase Estabrook waited to hear the sentence for their son’s murderer, Zachary Norman.
The Estabrook brothers were gunned down in the street off 6th and Ash in Three Forks in the early morning hours of Jan. 15, 2022.
Before Norman’s sentence was read, family members of the brothers went before the courtroom to read their impact statements.
That’s when Brendan and Chase's father, Roger Estabrook, shared some shocking information.
Roger read aloud that he snuck a shank into the Law and Justice Center when Norman’s trial began. He hid it somewhere in the courtroom, he said, planning to kill Norman before having a sudden change of heart.
Law enforcement escorted Roger out of the room shortly after. Springer says law enforcement took Roger to be interviewed by detectives
“We cleared the courtroom for a little bit and searched the area,” said Springer.
Springer says he’s unable to share where the shank was hidden at this time.
Roger Estabrook was not arrested.
As the investigation continues, Springer says safety is their top priority.
“We recognize that when it comes to security there are ways of sneaking something into a place,” said Springer.
Springer says they’ll be going back and reviewing their processes to see if there is anything they missed that day.
"But for the most part, there was not an opportunity for the defendant to be harmed,” said Springer.
He says he understands the emotional stress put on the family at this time.
“I understand his emotional state,” said Springer. “He’s lost his sons; it’s a very difficult situation to be in, and there’s probably a lot of emotions that go through someone’s head when those things happen.”
