A 65-year-old Siren man is facing harassment and reckless use of a weapon charges after he was arrested in Pine City on February 25.
According to the criminal complaint, deputies recieved a call that Michael Johnson was reportedly sitting in a blue truck near Robinson Park holding a shotgun partially out the window.
When law enforcement made contact with Johnson, they saw an uncased shotgun laying in the backseat. Johnson reportedly fully identified himself to law enforcement and told deputies that he had a loaded gun in his pocket and an ASP (extendable baton). Deputies then removed a Sig Sauer handgun, knife, and the ASP from his person. Law enforcement also noted four large zip ties in his visitor. When asked about them, Johnson said that they were for work.
Johnson told deputies that he was working with witness protection and the US Marshalls Service to pick up an employee of Frandsen Bank in Pine City and take her to his house to do taxes, reportedly handing one of the deputies her business card.
He went on to tell deputies that he and the woman would go pick up her cats before going to his house. Johnson said that he would keep her there until they could figure some things out for testimony.
Johnson said that he had originally walked toward the bank with the shotgun for his own protection, but he turned around and opted to leave it in his truck and take the handgun instead.
Deputies talked with the Frandsen employee, who said that he had been in earlier that day and insisted that he had papers she needed to sign. She said that Johnson opened a bank account with Frandsen earlier in February and was in the week prior for help with online banking.
Johnson also told deputies that he left McDonald's food at a house in Pine City on Valentine's Day that he meant "for the girl at the bank."
If convicted, the maximum sentence for the harassment charge is five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. The maximum sentence for reckless use of a weapon charge is 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
