Mesa County, CO Man Charged After Highway 50 Gun Threat

Whitewater, CO – A 56-year-old Montrose man faces four felony menacing charges after deputies say he allegedly pointed a gun at a passing vehicle carrying two adults and two children on Highway 50 in Mesa County, southeast of Grand Junction.

According to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday to a report of a motorcyclist threatening another driver with a firearm along Highway 50 between Grand Junction and Whitewater.

Investigators said the victim vehicle contained two adults and two children. The occupants told deputies that a motorcyclist allegedly approached their vehicle aggressively while displaying a weapon.

Authorities allege the male rider traveled alongside the vehicle and pointed the gun toward the car before re-holstering the weapon and speeding ahead.

Using descriptions of the motorcycle rider and his passenger, deputies located a motorcycle near mile marker 49 on Highway 50, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies conducted what authorities described as a high-risk traffic stop. A pistol was recovered from the rider before he was taken into custody, the sheriff’s office said.

The rider was identified by authorities as Michael Johnson, 56, of Montrose, Colorado.

Johnson was transported to the Mesa County Detention Facility and booked on four counts of felony menacing involving a real or simulated weapon, each listed as a Class 5 felony.

The sheriff’s office did not release additional information about the circumstances leading up to the confrontation or whether the motorcycle passenger faced any charges.

No injuries were reported in the agency’s announcement.

The charges are allegations, and Johnson is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.