RICHLAND CENTER — Robert Bayliss, the loner who tried to hold off armored cars, snipers and SWAT teams from several counties and two dozen agencies during a rural Richland County shoot-out last spring was found guilty Monday night on 13 of 17 felony charges in connection with the incident.

Richland County Circuit Court Judge Edward E. Leineweber ordered a pre-sentence investigation, which could take up to 60 days, and Bayliss was returned to the county jail. Bayliss listened intently as the guilty verdicts were read following about three hours of deliberation. He nodded, and shook his head.

The jury found him guilty on 13 of 17 charges, including four counts of first-degree attempted intentional homicide, the most serious. He was found not guilty on two charges of unlawful possession of explosives and two of recklessly endangering safety. Other guilty charges covered intentionally pointing a firearm at a law enforcement officer and endangering safety by the reckless use of a firearm.

Bayliss, in defending himself in court and in an interview last spring, said the no trespassing sign at his driveway should have been enough to deter deputies from coming on to his property March 31, 2008.

He also hinted during the trial and in his closing argument that a mysterious stranger might have been responsible for shooting at deputies. Bullets from a high-powered rifle heavily damaged the bulletproof windshield of at least one armored car. Deputies from several counties and state law enforcement squads converged on the Bayliss property from the land and air last April. Those riding in armored cars were shot at from a vantage point within the home.

Bayliss was pulled from the smoking home after tear gas was thrown inside. The property burned to the ground, along with all of his belongings. He later said he was left with one boot and a cache of silver coins hidden, and retrieved by authorities, in a wrecked truck.

Bayliss, who in court wore boots, too-big blue jeans and a T-shirt of the Viola Volunteer Fire Department, briefly took the witness stand Monday in his own defense to deliver a narrative of events.

The trial drew fewer than a dozen spectators, at most, to the regal old Richland County Courthouse.

Bayliss, a Navy veteran who had worked in Illinois repairing electronic medical instruments, bought the land outside of Viola in 1974, built a home and worked at odd jobs, heating with wood and listening to short-wave radio. He had worked as a meter reader, apple picker and newspaper delivery man. In recent years, he had to haul water to his property, a factor, he said, in his distrust of county government, which he blamed for ruining his well in a road-widening project. He also said, in an interview, that his property taxes were, at first, unpaid because of a mailing mix-up. He made references in an interview and during his trial to oaths and constitutional issues and trespassing laws. All are familiar themes in what are commonly known as "sovereign" beliefs, though Bayliss was not a member of any formal anti-government group, he said.

During and up to the trial, he had some supporters among his neighbors, who described him as a quiet, helpful, handy man and a good shot.

The non-payment of taxes after 2000 stayed on the books and the sum due increased over several years, leading the county to eviction process.

The property was sold by the county last fall for $35,500.