( CNN ) -- A convicted murderer who was pardoned this month in a controversial move by outgoing Mississippi Gov . Haley Barbour , has been found in Wyoming , Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood announced Monday . Joseph Ozment was served with papers at a hotel in Laramie , Wyoming , where he had been staying under another name , his office said . As he was fleeing in his girlfriend 's car , Ozment bumped an officer and sped from the parking lot . He later returned to the hotel on foot , denying he had been behind the wheel , Hood said . The officer was not seriously hurt . Ozment 's whereabouts had been unknown since he was picked up by his mother on January 8 after his release . `` We said we would find him , and we did , '' said Hood . `` Now , we will let the court decide what happens from here . '' Ozment is one of four convicted murderers Barbour pardoned this month . He did not appear at a court hearing in a case challenging the pardons . Hood has said officials wanted to serve Ozment with a document telling him to appear in court . If he does not comply , a judge has the authority to hold him in contempt , the attorney general 's office said . A Jackson , Mississippi , judge is expected to hear the case this week . As he closed out his second term as governor , Barbour granted `` full pardons '' -- meaning the convict 's record is effectively wiped clean -- to more than 200 people found guilty of a variety of crimes . All four of the convicted murderers he pardoned were serving life sentences and worked as trusties at the governor 's mansion . The move stirred outrage among relatives of the pardoned murderers ' victims . `` It 's just an every minute , constant , in the back of your mind , where is he ? What is he doing ? '' said Mary McAbee , sister of Rick Montgomery , a store clerk shot to death by Ozment in 1992 . Ozment pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole . `` I 'm fearful . He 's a cold-blooded murderer to do what he 's done , and if he thinks that he may go back to prison , what 's he got to lose ? '' she said . Hood has been particularly outspoken , earlier this month calling the pardons `` a slap in the face to everyone in law enforcement and ( saying ) Gov . Barbour should be ashamed . '' The attorney general is questioning the pardons for `` failure to sufficiently meet the publication requirements of the Mississippi Constitution , '' his office said . Late Monday , Hood spoke to CNN 's `` AC360 , '' slamming the former governor and questioning the motives behind his pardons . `` He ran the office of the governor as if it was Mississippi in the 1950s , '' said Hood . He said many of the inmates Barbour pardoned came from influential families or had connections to the Republican party . `` There 's not any logical explanation other than it was just a whim , and by doing it on a whim at the last moment that 's how he violated our Constitution , '' Hood said . Barbour has defended his pardons . On Friday , he appeared on CNN 's `` John King USA , '' saying Ozment and the others have been rehabilitated . `` He has no obligation to do anything . He 's been pardoned . He 's a free man , '' Barbour said . CNN 's Rich Phillips contributed to this report .
NEW : Barbour Jim Hood slams then-Gov . Haley Barbour . Haley Barbour pleaded guilty to the 1992 murder of Joseph Ozment . He was released from prison after a pardon from Mississippi AG . Ozment was served with papers at a Wyoming , Wyoming , hotel .