Local Man Faces Three District Court Charges In 2018 Road Rage Incident

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BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

Ross Kohn, 28, of Los Alamos is facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon – two different weapons in two locations – and tampering with evidence in First Judicial District Court in connection with an alleged September 2018 road rage incident. Kohn waived his preliminary hearing in Los Alamos Magistrate Court and his arraignment in District Court.

According to Court documents, Los Alamos Police Department Sgt. Ben Irving was dispatched to an address on Cheyenne on the report a road rage incident involving a firearm, a white truck and a red Mustang. Irving made contact with Kohn who according to Irving’s report, stated that he was driving home on eastbound Diamond Drive when the Mustang began to tailgate him and harass him by cutting him off.

Irving said Kohn told him the driver “allowed” him to enter the southbound merge lane on San Ildefonso to proceed up North Mesa. Kohn claimed the driver followed him home and “began cussing at him”. Kohn said he ran into his house, closed the door and went to take a shower. He said a short time later he heard banging on his front door and went to check what it was.

Irving’s report indicates Kohn told him that as he approached the door he observed a man brandishing a silver handgun standing at the door and that he ran over, closed the door and ran back to his bedroom. Kohn said the man he now believed to be the brother of the man he originally identified and that the two men left in the Mustang and a purple truck.

When Irving asked Kohn if he had brandished a weapon against either of the men, Kohn replied that he had not. Asked if he owned a gun, the report states that Kohn responded that his wife had one in the bedroom. After the gun was located and unloaded, Irving contacted Cpl. David Boe and told him to be on the lookout for a silver handgun with the individuals Boe was speaking with. Boe responded that the individuals were stating that Kohn pulled a handgun on the driver of the Mustang while driving eastbound on Diamond Drive in front of the fire station which they described as small and black in color.

Irving asked Kohn for consent to search his white pickup truck and Kohn gave his consent. While searching the vehicle, Irving’s report states that he found a case for a 10 mm long-barrel handgun and several fully loaded magazines but no sign of a handgun. The report states that Kohn said he had sold the gun but when asked for proof of the sale, said he had only text messages.

Irving said the presence of a handgun case filled with a magazine and no handgun concerned him considering the situation. He said this concern was further elevated when Kohn could not provide the text message proof of the sale he had conducted. Irving placed Kohn in custody and read him his Miranda warning. Irving said it became clear Kohn not being honest about the second handgun and eventually Kohn allegedly admitted he had approached the front door with the long-barreled handgun drawn and brandished it at the second man. He further allegedly Admitted to hiding it under the mattress in his bedroom. Officers retrieved a black long-barreled 10 mm Glock with a full magazine and one round chambered.

No date has yet been set for Kohn’s next Court appearance.