June 18, 2020 - 12:57 PM
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - A man accused of holding two roofing-company salesmen at gunpoint and stepping on the neck of one of them who is black missed his first court appearance on Thursday because he is undergoing mental health treatment, his lawyer said.
Scott Gudmundsen, 65, was arrested June 11 in his Loveland neighbourhood after allegedly calling police to report that he was going to confront the two salesmen because he suspected they were antifa — shorthand for anti-fascists — which is an umbrella term describing far-left groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations and other events, police said.
An affidavit from police explaining the reasons for his arrest said Gudmundsen described himself as a former police officer. According to the document, one of the men who is a football player at Colorado State University said Gudmundsen knelt on his neck while jamming a gun into his back. The man said that when he asked Gudmundsen not to kill him, Gudmundsen replied that he would not but the police would, according to the document.
Lawyer Andy Gavaldon told District Judge Carroll Brinegar that he was making a “special appearance” on Gudmundsen’s behalf to report that he was a patient at a mental health centre, KUSA-TV reported.
Gudmundsen was released after posting bail. His family arranged for him to be treated for a mental health illness that he has had for a decade, his son Stanley Gudmundsen said. He told the station his father's actions were the result of mental illness, not racism.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020