What I got was that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and when they questioned him the first time (in town, maybe? before the story's start) they had a lot of when-did-you-stop-beating-your-wife type questions for him, and when he saw them follow up by charging up his mountain he presumed the worst and hauled ass. They, in turn, decided that signified guilt and went after him with a vengeance.
Coupled with an arrogant, bragging JBT in charge of the apprehension, it kinda took on a life of its own.
I can certainly see something similar happening in many of the real-life stories unfolding recently.