John Michael Evans, the man who scaled a 100-foot high-voltage transmission tower after leading Larimer County sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase Tuesday, will be arraigned in Larimer County Court Friday morning. The 33-year-old Fort Collins man is facing charges of vehicular eluding, driving without a valid license, possession of a controlled substance and second degree assault, as well as criminal mischief and domestic violence.
The assault charge resulted from Evans’ allegedly hitting a deputy with the van he was driving. The deputy had stopped Evans at North Taft Hill Road and County Road 66 around noon after receiving a report that Evans was driving under the influence of drugs, a report called in by Evans’ girlfriend after a domestic dispute. Evans took off, striking the deputy, who sustained minor injuries, and then led law enforcement on a chase along a winding route north.
The chase ended when deputies physically stopped the van with their patrol cars on County Road 15 near East County Road 82 at about 12:30 p.m. Evans ran across a field and climbed the tower near the Rawhide Energy Station and remained about 90 feet in the air for about two and a half hours. He allegedly dropped a vial of cocaine on his way up the tower, according to the sheriff’s department.
A negotiator finally convinced Evans to come down about 3 p.m. He was transported to Poudre Valley Hospital before being transferred to the Larimer County Jail. He is being held on a $50,000 bond.
Sheriff’s records also show Evans has an outstanding warrant for criminal impersonation in Loveland.