By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A competency hearing has been set for a 20-year-old man accused of stealing cash at gunpoint from a man inside a Wausau apartment.
The remaining seven open cases were filed over the span of about a year starting in November 2017 and include an array of charges such as possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting or obstructing an officer, and operating a vehicle without a valid license.
Johnson also has a string of prior convictions and was on probation at the time of his arrest from an April 2017 conviction on charges of child abuse and intimidating a victim.
The alleged armed robbery, which formed the basis for the most recent charges filed against Johnson, was reported at 9:37 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27 at an apartment in the 4100 block of Stewart Avenue. That’s when a resident called 911 to report that a man known to her as “Montana” entered her apartment, stole the money from a visiting friend and threatened to “bust a cap” into the apartment if she tried to see which direction he ran after leaving the apartment, according to the criminal complaint.
The suspect was later identified as Johnson, police said. The apartment resident told police she owed Johnson money but was unable to repay him, according to court filings.
Police had already been looking for Johnson and made several attempts to arrest him at an apartment in the 1800 block of N. 11th Avenue where he was allegedly living with his 20-year-old girlfriend but had no luck in finding him. Johnson is “known to be violent with law enforcement” and is known to run from officers to avoid apprehension, according to the police report.
One day after the alleged armed robbery officers stopped a vehicle in the 800 block of N. 9th Avenue after identifying Johnson as a passenger in the back seat of the car. Johnson tossed a bag containing a handgun and marijuana onto the roof of the vehicle and tried to flee on foot but was apprehended, according to the report.
Competency is typically determined through an evaluation by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist. The evaluation can include a review of records, psychological testing, in-person interviews or collateral interviews. Ultimately, Wisconsin law dictates that the issue of competence is a judicial decision.
Johnson is jailed on a $50,000 cash bond. His competency hearing is set for May 28.