Man with Utah ties in Michigan murder investigation, escapes police custody in Montana

SANDERS COUNTY, Montana — A man wanted in connection with a 2011 Michigan homicide who lived in Utah escaped police custody in Montana on Sunday, authorities say.

The Sanders County Montana Sheriff’s Office said 42-year-old Chadwick Shane Mobley escaped from police custody when being transported by the U.S. Marshals at approximately 10 a.m.

The sheriff’s office said Mobley was being transported when he removed his handcuffs and ankle shackles and ran away at the Plains Town Pump gas station.

Police report Mobley was wearing camo pants, a light-colored shirt, and black boots when he escaped.

The sheriff’s office is asking Sanders County residents to lock their homes, garages, and vehicles and to call 911 to report anything suspicious.

They also asked local businesses and homeowners near the gas station to review their security footage from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

“If he isn’t here in Sanders County (which is unknown at this time), his days are numbered either way, he will be caught,” stated the sheriff’s office in a Facebook post.

Murder Investigation

According to court documents, Mobley is suspected of the murder of 20-year-old Andrea Eilber was found shot to death in Lapeer County, Michigan, in an area about 30 minutes outside of Flint, in 2011.

Her boyfriend at the time, Kenneth Grondin, who was 19, was arrested for her murder. In 2015, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

However, in 2018, according to court documents, Grondin “was granted an appeal based on faulty language on the jury verdict instruction form,” was released from prison, and is under house arrest until his new trial.

Utah man wanted in Michigan murder investigation was under surveillance earlier this year

In January, Michigan authorities said a cigarette bud from the crime scene and DNA led them to believe that Mobley was connected to Eilber’s murder. Police also say Mobley lived 40 miles near the victim in 2011.

On June 13, Utah’s Department of Public Safety announced they were looking for Mobley, who was seen and living in Box Elder County, Utah.

During that time, Utah authorities sent a DNA sample from Mobley, sent them to Michigan authorities, who confirmed the DNA from the crime scene and the suspect matched, according to court documents.

Two weeks later, Montana’s Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said they arrested Mobley after receiving a tip.