James Johnson Arrested For Lunging At WY Highway Patrol Trooper With A Knife

A Gillette man who already had a warrant out for his arrest, has been charged with attacking a Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper and another motorist with a knife.

Twenty-two year old James Johnson is facing two counts of aggravated assault, one count of aggravated robbery, and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, at around 6:30pm on Monday, May 11th, a trooper approached Johnson on I-25 South, near milepost 208 (about 20 miles north of Casper), because Johnson was having vehicle problems.

The trooper learned that there was an arrest warrant out of Gillette for Johnson, for driving under suspension.

When informed, Johnson dove into his vehicle to retrieve a knife, then came back out and lunged at the trooper with the weapon.

Johnson tried to flee the area on foot, managed to stop another motorist, and tried to jerk the door open in an effort to get a ride.

The motorist tried to hold Johnson for the trooper, but Johnson was able to break free, and swung at the motorist with the knife, but missed.

The motorist then tried to drive away, but Johnson held on to the vehicle, until the driver stopped a short distance later, and Johnson was taken into custody.

Twenty-two and one-half grams of methamphetamine was later found in the trunk of Johnson's vehicle.

He is being held on $50,000 bond awaiting trial, and could face up to 10 years in prison on each of the aggravated assault charges, between five-to-25 years in prison on the aggravated robbery charge, and up to seven years in prison on the possession of a controlled substance charge if convicted.

Prosecutors noted that Johnson was on probation for an unrelated case, and has failed to appear in court on 12 occasions.