Josiah Jurich

More than two years after a man reportedly accosted and threatened to kill a worker in the Shoshone National Forest, federal prosecutors have dropped all charges. Their decision followed a psychiatrist’s determination that the defendant is not competent to stand trial and no longer poses a danger to other people.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming dismissed their two-count indictment against Josiah D. Jurich last month and a federal judge ordered that Jurich be released from any court supervision.

Jurich is a decorated U.S. Army veteran who suffered serious physical and mental injuries in combat. At the time of the assault — in August 2021 along the Beartooth Highway — law enforcement officials said Jurich appeared to be suffering from paranoia and psychotic hallucinations.

The former Oregon resident told authorities that he believed a former boss had been working with the U.S. Forest Service to track his movements across the country and harass him; charging documents say Jurich believed that government workers had implanted a microchip in his head, had been shooting bullets over his head and were relaying his location to one another by secret hand signals.

On Aug. 20, after Jurich thought he saw a Shoshone contractor make one of the hand gestures, he followed and confronted the man in a highway pullout. Jurich raced his vehicle up alongside the worker’s, skidding to a stop about a foot away, according to charging documents. Screaming obscenities and death threats, Jurich then ripped the handle off the worker’s truck and began beating on the driver’s side window, stopping only when bystanders intervened.

“When [Jurich] said he wanted to kill me, I believed it,” said the contractor, who called authorities.

Jurich quickly left the area and Park County Sheriff’s deputies caught up to him at the Dead Indian scenic overlook. As armed deputy Tom Toohey approached Jurich’s truck, the suspect dug around in the bed of his truck — where he’d stored a long rifle — and handled a knife. At one point he muttered, “Alright, let’s end this right here.”

However, Toohey was able to arrest Jurich without incident.

The Park County Attorney’s Office charged Jurich with misdemeanor counts of property destruction and breach of peace. Meanwhile, as Jurich was being held in jail, then-Sheriff Scott Steward worked with the Cody nonprofit group Downrange Warriors to get the veteran help and support.

Jurich suffered injuries to his head and neck while serving in Iraq in January 2005, when his group’s vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. Jurich administered life-saving care to a fellow soldier and received both a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart Medal for his service. However, his injuries resulted in disability: Beyond the physical injuries, Jurich received traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress, court documents say.

Downrange Warriors housed Jurich’s service dog and worked to arrange housing and treatment for the veteran, but the case became more serious when federal authorities picked it up. The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Jurich with a felony count of threats against a federal law enforcement officer and a misdemeanor count of damaging U.S. property. They had him transferred to federal custody.

Steward said last month that he’s “still not thrilled with the way it went down,” feeling the federal intervention disrupted efforts to get Jurich help.

While he doesn’t harbor any ill feelings, “I just think it was a bad deal,” Steward said. “I think the priority should have been on getting that gentleman help.”

Shortly after they picked up the case, federal prosecutors reportedly told Jurich’s defense attorney that their priority was also to ensure that Jurich received mental health treatment and that they wouldn’t be seeking a lengthy prison sentence.

Jurich remained in custody from August 2021 until January 2022, when an initial evaluation was completed and found that Jurich was incompetent. U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl released Jurich from jail to attend the VA Mental Residential Rehabilitation Program in Sheridan. The intent was to restore Jurich’s competency, but Dr. Charles Morgan — a psychiatrist who specializes in treating PTSD — concluded in November that restoration would not be possible. But the doctor did report that Jurich had responded to treatment.

“It is within a reasonable degree of medical certainty that Mr. Jurich is not a danger to himself, nor is he a danger to others or to society,” Morgan wrote.

After initially objecting to Jurich’s release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed there was no legal basis to continue to commit him to a hospital. The case was closed Jan. 24 and Jurich is “no longer … under any conditions and/or requirements by the court,” according to hearing minutes.

The government’s position is that Jurich is now barred from possessing firearms, though his court-appointed attorney, Jordan Deckenbach, said that may not be correct.

Though the case took longer than he would have liked, Steward said he was happy with the outcome — and proud of the partnership with Downrange Warriors that helped build a support system for Jurich.

“I think it worked out the way it should,” Steward said.