Bail revocation sought for man arrested in Justice Center standoff

“I just see a sea of red flags here,” said Judge Robert Allison following arguments Wednesday surrounding the possible revocation of bail for a 75-year-old man accused of sparking a May 16 standoff inside the Flathead County Justice Center.

John Drew Peterson, who faces a felony stalking charge in district court, has remained behind bars since the roughly one-hour confrontation with members of multiple local law enforcement agencies. Peterson allegedly entered the building, which houses Flathead County District Court offices and courtrooms, armed with a box cutter and demanded justice before authorities took him into custody.

County Attorney Travis Ahner argued June 14 that Peterson violated the conditions of his release by engaging in disorderly conduct, obstructing peace officers and resisting arrest. He asked that bail remain at $250,000, which is where it has stood since the standoff.

Defense attorney Liam Gallagher asked that bail be returned to $100,000 and the conditions surrounding Peterson’s release tightened.

Allison opted to hold off on a ruling until he could review surveillance footage and body camera video of the standoff, but described himself as worried by Peterson’s behavior, both on May 16 and in previous interactions with the legal system.

Peterson initially was booked into the county jail on the stalking charge in March. Prosecutors alleged in court documents that he strode onto a neighbor’s Castle View Road property and threatened them with death while wielding a machete on March 25.

He posted his $100,000 bail by the time of his April 20 arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to the felony charge. En route to the defendant’s table, he slowed as he approached the victims, raised a single finger and cursed at them.

Authorities placed Peterson back behind bars following the May 16 confrontation with law enforcement. According to authorities and court documents, Peterson entered the lobby and began causing a disturbance. As authorities — including courthouse security, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and Kalispell Police Department — responded, Peterson allegedly placed the blade to his neck.

In courtroom testimony Wednesday, Detective Cody Shields of the Sheriff’s Office said that Peterson expressed his hope to die at the hands of law enforcement.

“I think he said at one point, ‘You’ll have to kill me,’” Shields recalled of his time negotiating with the 75-year-old.

Shields testified that Peterson posed a threat to himself, law enforcement and the public owing to his conduct with the blade, though how to describe the weapon proved a sticking point. Shields repeatedly called it a knife while Gallagher argued it was a box cutter and posed mostly a danger to Peterson himself.

Gallagher otherwise conceded the basic facts of the standoff and Peterson’s role in sparking it, but objected to the tactics employed by law enforcement to bring it to an end. He also took issue with authorities describing Peterson’s expressed interest in being killed by law enforcement as posing a threat to officers.

Authorities ultimately subdued Peterson using a K9 and a less than lethal, foam-tipped 40 mm round, according to Shields.

Gallagher also brought several mental health professionals to the stand to testify to the care Peterson has received thus far as well as options for future treatment. He argued that Peterson walked into the courthouse that day seeking a meeting with a judge.

He called it “indicative of a situation where [Peterson] just wanted to be heard.”

“He’s a veteran; he’s 75 years old; he made a mistake,” Gallagher said.

Ahner countered by pointing out Peterson has held a blade to his neck in a public building in the past. Armed with the box cutter, Peterson could have hurt a judge, member of the public or courthouse employee, Ahner said.

Peterson, Ahner said, “has a serious problem with the justice system here.”

Allison cited Peterson’s alleged willingness to provoke law enforcement into killing him as his main concern.

“I do strongly believe that suicide by cop is a threat to officers,” he said before ticking off other behaviors exhibited by Peterson that struck him as worrisome.

Those included Peterson’s declining of psychiatric medication, decision to bring a box cutter to the courthouse and his conduct during his arraignment.

“I’m concerned,” Allison said.