John Melbraaten

A California man who got into a multi-hour standoff with Cody police last week remained in custody on Monday.

John M. Melbraaten, 41, faces a misdemeanor charge of interference with a peace officer in connection with Wednesday’s standoff in Cody, and he must also answer to a felony drug case in Hot Springs County.

Charging documents allege that Melbraaten fled from state agents and pulled a gun when they tried questioning him about a suspicious package. He then camped out in his car and threatened to kill himself during Wednesday’s four-and-a-half-hour incident.

Melbraaten got out of his vehicle at one point, but officers shot him with “less lethal munitions” — also known as bean bag rounds — after he refused to show them his hands. He eventually agreed to surrender.

“The allegations in this case, … although they are charged as a misdemeanor, were very serious,” Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Marina Tucker said at a Friday hearing in Park County Circuit Court.

Tucker added that her office “just has very serious concerns about the situation, the use of the firearm, the danger that [the] defendant here poses to himself and others.”

Melbraaten countered that “these people are more of a danger to me than anything,” telling the court that he’d been shot with the bean bags in the face and body.

“The things that have been done against me are far worse than anything, any threat that I have against anybody in this, … anybody at all,” he said after pleading not guilty.

Park County Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah ultimately adopted Tucker’s recommendation and set bail at $5,000 cash. However, even if Melbraaten posts that sum, he’ll still need to deal with his warrant in Hot Springs County.

Thermopolis traffic trouble

Court records show the warrant stemmed from a March traffic stop in Thermopolis. Police wound up searching Melbraaten’s vehicle and reportedly found a small amount of marijuana, a few items with apparent meth residue and — most significantly — a water bong that contained approximately 40 grams of liquid that tested positive for meth. They also found a handgun and additional magazine.

According to charging documents, Melbraaten reportedly admitted to police that he used meth “a couple times a month.” The arresting officer in Thermopolis recalled that Melbraaten “expressed that in California methamphetamine use is not considered a health problem and stated he smokes out of water bongs due to it being ‘cleaner’ and not as harsh.”

Melbraaten eventually pleaded guilty to a felony count of possessing meth in exchange for seven other charges being dismissed. A plea deal with Hot Springs County prosecutors called for him to receive three years of supervised probation and the District Court Judge Bobbi Overfield scheduled a sentencing hearing in October.

However, court records allege that Melbraaten never responded to the Department of Corrections personnel who were preparing a presentence investigation; that led Overfield to issue a warrant for his arrest in early September.

Drug investigation turns into standoff

Meanwhile, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation came across a suspicious package that had been shipped to Cody. DCI Special Agent Shane Reece said he believed the shipment contained illegal drugs, and it was addressed to a “John Melbraaten.”

Agents arrived at Melbraaten’s last known address on C Street on Wednesday morning and spoke to his mother, who reportedly said the package likely belonged to her son; she indicated that he lived just behind her home, on F Street.

Agents found Melbraaten in the driveway of that residence, sitting in the driver’s seat of a running 2003 Lincoln LS 4 sedan.

Reece said he identified himself as a law enforcement officer and asked Melbraaten if he’d allow them to open up the suspicious package.

Melbraaten declined and Reece eventually asked the suspect to step out of his car, noting the Hot Springs County warrant. Instead, Melbraaten allegedly put the car in gear and pulled a revolver out of his pocket.

As Reece took cover and drew his own pistol, Melbraaten allegedly squeezed his Lincoln past Reece’s vehicle and a chain-link fence — losing his front bumper and headlight in the process.

Responding Cody police soon spotted Melbraaten a couple blocks away, parked behind a bush at an E Avenue property owned by his mother. As officers approached his vehicle, they saw he had a handgun pointed at his head and backed off. They summoned additional officers and established a perimeter, warning the public to stay clear of the area.

Negotiations and bean bag rounds

Reece used Melbraaten’s mother’s cellphone to negotiate with the suspect, but “Melbraaten continued to threaten self-harm,” the affidavit says, “indicating to officers that he wished to kill himself instead of being arrested for his outstanding warrant.”

During their conversations, Melbraaten put the gun to his head numerous times, expressed his distrust of law enforcement and spoke about the “believed injustices” that had led to the warrant, Reece wrote.

(Those injustices aren’t laid out in the affidavit, but during Friday’s court hearing, Melbraaten disputed his felony possession charge in Hot Springs County. Although he pleaded guilty to the offense in July, he argued that the allegedly meth-laced bong water “doesn’t even meet the criteria for a felony charge.”)

At one point during Wednesday’s standoff, Melbraaten got out of his car and said he was going to use the bathroom, the affidavit says. However, after he refused to take his hands out of pockets, officers fired so-called “less lethal munitions” at Melbraaten.

Reece said the intent was to “avoid his drawing a possible concealed firearm and/or returning to the vehicle,” but Melbraaten made it back to his car and again threatened to kill himself.

In court on Friday, Melbraaten asserted that, “I got out of my car to surrender, and they shot me with bean bags in the face.”

“If I wouldn’t have been wearing glasses, I probably would have been impaired for life,” he said.

Melbraaten started to point to an apparent wound on his stomach area, when Darrah cut him off, saying the information wasn’t relevant to setting bond.

Wednesday’s standoff ended when Melbraaten finally agreed to come out of his car with his hands up, charging documents say. He was taken into custody around 1:30 p.m., checked out by responding personnel from Cody Regional Health and then taken to jail.

Melbraaten initially refused to say what he’d done with the gun, but eventually told them he’d hidden it in the headliner, the affidavit says. Reece said the weapon was a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver, loaded with five live rounds.

Next steps

In court documents, Melbraaten has listed his mother’s home as his “local” address, while identifying Long Beach, California, as his primary place of residence.

A trial on the misdemeanor interference charge is tentatively set for June, while his next court date in Hot Springs County had not been scheduled as of late last week.