Matthew J. Hutchinson was an unlikely suspect: a 23-year-old from an upscale suburb, with no known criminal record.
But when he wounded two police officers, then fatally shot himself, he was armed to the hilt. He had a fancy gun, lots of ammo and near-deadly aim, authorities said Monday as they tried to figure out what led to Friday night's traffic-stop-gone-bad.
"I don't understand this gross overreaction to being pulled over," Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper said. "It's almost as if the people in the car were looking for a confrontation."
Hamilton County Coroner O'dell Owens theorized that Hutchinson might have been playing out some sort of fantasy, given that three guns were found at the scene along with a considerable amount of ammunition.
"You wonder what the motive was," Owens said. "Here you have three individuals with (what) my understanding was three guns. ...
"Why is (Hutchinson ) carrying such firepower? What is he going to do?"
He questioned if they were going to rob someone "or just riding around, feeling good, playing games."
Both Owens and Piper used the same word to describe the scenario: bizarre.
Authorities said they could find no logical motive for a traffic stop to escalate to extreme violence, leaving two police officers injured, Hutchinson dead and his two buddies - whom he has known since high school - facing serious prison time.
Hutchinson and driver John Brochu, 24, of Deerfield Township, both had such small amounts of marijuana that "they would have only gotten a ticket," not arrested, Piper said.
Brochu, a 24-year-old Deerfield Township man with an engineering degree from Georgia Tech, was being held on $1 million bond following a Hamilton Municipal Court video appearance Monday from the Butler County Jail. He is set to appear in person for a hearing in West Chester this afternoon.
Brochu was arraigned on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, complicity to felonious assault and failure to comply with a police order.
Brochu, Hutchinson and their alleged accomplice, Bruce Suggs, 24, are all 2001 Mason High School graduates who still live in the Mason-Deerfield area with their parents, officials said. Attempts to interview relatives, friends and neighbors of the three were unsuccessful Monday.
"You have people without a criminal history, people that are not at risk, people coming from a middle-class background," Owens noted.
Suggs had been hospitalized with an ankle injury until Monday afternoon, when he was transferred from Bethesda North Hospital and booked into the Butler County Jail. Officials on Monday night said no court date had been set for him yet. He faces charges of complicity to failure to comply and complicity to felonious assault.
Sgt. Matthew Beiser and Officer Jeffrey Duma are recovering from gunshot wounds that they suffered Friday night. They were the first West Chester officers hit by assailants' gunfire during Chief John Bruce's 28 years with the department.
"This is the first time that the marksmanship of the bad guy has been good," Bruce said Monday. "This is a safe place, but we do get officers fired upon. It's just this is the first time they've been hit."
Piper also remarked about Hutchinson's shooting skill. He said the .45-caliber pistol isn't easy to shoot. It's heavy, with a lot of kick that can make precise aim difficult.
Court records show that Brochu is accused of possessing a .45-caliber Ed Brown Executive Elite - a weapon typically used by competitive shooters. It sells for upwards of $2,000 on various Internet sites.
Hutchinson killed himself with one shot into his right temple with a .45-caliber handgun, Owens said. There were no other wounds on his body.