By Kirk Mitchell The Denver Post
Three men under investigation for a possible threat against Barack Obama have lengthy criminal records for illegal gun possession, drug dealing and theft.
The three men, Tharin Gartrell, Nathan Johnson and Shawn Adolf, all were being sought on arrest warrants for numerous criminal crimes, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records.
Court records indicate one of the suspects had wigs, masks, a stolen rifle tooled for attaching a silencer and equipment for manufacturing methamphetamines.
Authorities have yet to say why they are investigating a possible threat against Obama but said the men may be connected to a white-supremacist group.
U.S. Attorney Troy Eid insisted that the men posed "no credible threat" to Obama or visitors for the Democratic National Convention. He'll host a press conference at 4 p.m. today with heads of several federal and local law enforcement agencies.
Nathan Johnson made his initial appearance this morning in Denver court and waived the reading of the drug charges against him. He was ordered held on $10,000 bond.
Last night, KCNC-TV, Channel 4, reported that Johnson had told the Secret Service that the group planned to kill Obama during his acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High Thursday night.
In an interview with the station, Johnson said:
"He don't belong in political office. Blacks don't belong in political office. He ought to be shot."
Johnson told Denver sheriff's deputies today that he would not grant addtional interviews.
The case began early Sunday, when a rented Dodge pickup being driven by Gartrell, 28, was pulled over in Aurora on suspicion of drunken driving.
Authorities then saw a wig, two high-powered rifles in the truck, with a scope, a bulletproof vest, a walkie-talkie, several boxes of ammunition and methamphetamine. One of the rifles, which was stolen, had a threaded barrel for a silencer, according to court records released today.
Three backpacks contained equipment for making methampahetamines: three large boxes of matches, two glass cooking vessels, pseudo-ephedrine pills, and a bottle of PH base. Officers found a baggie of suspected methamphetamine in Gartrell's pocket.
Police then, for reasons not yet explained, went to a hotel at the intersection of Interstate 25 and East Belleview Ave., where they arrested Johnson, 32, at 4:30 a.m.
Thirty minutes later, police went to the Cherry Creek Hotel, 600 S. Colorado Blvd., in Glendale.
After they knocked, Adolf, 33, jumped from a sixth-floor window, landed on an awning four floors down and then hit the ground, breaking his ankle, Glendale Police Chief Victor Ross said.
Adolf is being held on a $1 million bond for eight warrants from around the state, Aurora police Lt. Bob Stef said.
One of the warrants is out of Texas for a felony charge of tampering with government records, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records.
He also is being held on a Weld County warrant for burglary, vehicular theft, theft; an Adams County warrant for larceny; a Jefferson County warrant for a drug case and a Kit Carson County warrant for three theft counts. He also is wanted out of Kit Carson County for a separate warrant for failure to appear on a felony charge, according to CBI records.
Adolf has an extensive criminal record. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 1997 for drug and illegal weapons charges. He also served sentences for assault, forgery and numerous theft charges.
Gartrell is being held on a $50,000 bond on amphetamine possession and on an Arapahoe County arrest warrant, according to CBI records. He was convicted of drug possession charge in 2005 and was arrested for a drug charge in May 2007.
According to court records, he has been living at a friend's house the past three months while he has been unemployed. For five years he has been a self-employed disc jockey. He recently lost his job as a cook at a Centennial Pizza Hut. He quit school after the 11th grade, the records indicate.
Johnson was arrested on a Greeley shoplifting warrant and for suspicion of drug dealing, according to CBI records.
Johnson was convicted in 2006 on an identify theft charge. He also previously was arrested for forgery.
During his first appearance in court today, Johnson, wore blue jeans and a T-shirt which read, "If I don't remember. It didn't happen."
