Alexander Mandarino allegedly gave contradictory answers to police officers for 45 minutes before an Idaho State Trooper shot the Whitefish, Mont., resident once in the chest at Lookout Pass June 12, Lt. Stu Miller of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

Mandarino allegedly gave multiple contradictory answers to Shoshone County Sheriff's Deputy Adam Durflinger and ISP Trooper Todd McDevitt before he sat down in the passenger seat of his Scion. Miller said while he was seated, Mandarino produced a handgun from somewhere in the vehicle, and Durflinger began a struggle to take the weapon.

Mandarino, Durflinger and McDevitt all had "hands on the gun," struggling to gain control of the weapon, before McDevitt took a step back and shot Mandarino in the chest one time, Miller said.

Durflinger originally responded to the scene for a welfare check on an orange Scion XD parked in an Interstate 90 turnout one mile west of Lookout Pass.

Miller said red flags were raised for Durflinger when Shoshone County dispatch reported the Scion was not registered to Mandarino, and the license plates on the vehicle had been replaced with plates in Mandarino's name.

Durflinger and McDevitt spoke with Mandarino for 45 minutes, trying to get a solid answer as to why the 26-year-old replaced the plates on the vehicle with his own, Miller said.

Miller said the car belongs to Mandarino's currently unnamed roommate, but investigators have no idea why Mandarino was driving his roommate's Scion or why he changed the plates on the vehicle.

While the investigators are still waiting to get the full ballistics and full autopsy report from the shooting, Miller said the preliminary results indicate Mandarino died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Additionally, he said a toxicology screening uncovered Mandarino tested positive for THC - the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Miller also said that a search of the Scion only produced basic personal belongings.

Miller said the detectives investigating the shooting are expecting to wrap up the investigation soon, but there are still some lingering questions about Mandarino.

"They're trying to piece together what was [Mandarino's] frame of mind," Miller said. "[They] don't know why he went for the gun."

Miller said the investigation is ongoing, and he would be sending out a press release with more information in the coming days.