Man accused of waving knife at Boulder officer set for trial
Jul. 22—A man accused of waving a knife at an officer following an incident last year in which he crawled through the ceilings of an apartment complex and locked himself in another tenant's bathroom is set for trial.
Ian Shane Johnson, 43, pleaded not guilty in Boulder District Court Wednesday to first-degree assault — threatening a peace officer, first-degree burglary, attempted first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, second-degree burglary and criminal mischief.
Colorado law allows for a first-degree assault charge when the defendant "threatens with a deadly weapon a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical service provider engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and the offender knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical service provider acting in the performance of his or her duties," even if the officer is not injured.
According to court records, Johnson is now set for a five-day trial starting Nov. 15, as well as a motions hearing on Oct. 6.
Johnson remains in custody on $30,000 bond.
According to police, officers responded to an apartment complex in the 2700 block of Iris Avenue on June 26, 2020, after Johnson had barricaded himself in the second-floor laundry room. Police said Johnson ripped out a section of copper pipe, causing flooding on the second floor of the complex, which seeped into Murphy's Bar & Grill on the first floor.
Officers turned off the building's power to stop the water when Johnson would not comply with negotiations and launched pepper-ball projectiles into the laundry room.
Johnson then climbed into the ceiling and through the attic, and was able to run the length of the building and exited the attic and landed in the bedroom of another tenant's apartment. Officers entered the apartment after roughly two hours of trying to negotiate with Johnson, who had barricaded himself in the bathroom, according to police.
Officers used a ballistic shield and tasers to force entry into the bathroom, where Johnson was in the bathtub armed with a knife. He then began waving it at officers, but was eventually arrested. He was treated at an area hospital for minimal injuries from climbing through the walls and fighting with officers.
While being transported to the hospital, Johnson "made several spontaneous utterances about breaking into the apartment because the apartment owner was going to steal his drugs," according to an arrest affidavit. Johnson also mentioned using methamphetamine and stated that he hadn't slept in four days.
The owner of the building estimated Johnson caused approximately $20,000 worth of damage to the building.
