Police say suspect was frustrated about girlfriends’ death
CU freshman environmental design major Rolf William Johnson, 19, will be appearing in court on April 14 at 1:30 p.m. for a preliminary hearing regarding charges of second and third-degree assault.
After his arrest on March 22 for allegedly throwing a mirror out of his 12th floor Stearns West window, Johnson posted the $5,000 bail and has since been released.
The student is being charged with second-degree assault for seriously injuring Boulder resident Joshua Moran, 20, and third-degree assault for injuring 19-year-old CU student Madison Mangines. According to Boulder County court documents, both were struck with pieces of a mirror allegedly thrown out of a window in Williams Village by Johnson.
Officer Dustin Vinzant said in a police report that Johnson said the act of throwing the mirror out the window was done after a culmination of events made him frustrated. These included the recent death of Johnson’s girlfriend of a drug overdose, the report said.
“Johnson said that when he reached his room that he was frustrated, upset, angry and ‘just wanted to break something,'” Vinzant said.
The report stated that Johnson’s roommates contacted Hall Director Coleen Schmidt with concerns about Johnson’s welfare. Police say Schmidt did not give the police Johnson’s name, and instead said she made a plan with his roommates to keep watch in case he attempted to commit suicide.
Johnson stated to Vinzant that he did not want to kill himself but feared the repercussions of his actions.
“He said that he is scared of the legal and academic processes and what will happen from this point forward,” Vinzant said in the report.
Residents of Williams Village said the incident, though serious, has done very little to affect the atmosphere in the halls.
“There haven’t been any security increases,” said Michael DeCesare, 18, a freshman international affairs major. “It was a pretty big topic when we came back from break. There was a lot of tension and worry from people that knew him.”
Johnson and Mangines did not respond for comment.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Carolyn Michaels at Carolyn.michaels@colorado.edu.
