Overview
- Richmond Takashi Johnson, released from the Boulder County Jail around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, allegedly slipped into Boulder Fire-Rescue Engine 143 while medics were in the lobby and drove off.
- Deputies and police pursued the engine through Boulder and onto Highway 287 toward Longmont, where stop sticks deflated its tires and the driver crashed near 1st and Main.
- Officers say Johnson ran but was arrested within minutes, and a sheriff’s deputy suffered a minor injury during the foot chase.
- An arrest affidavit released Thursday describes the truck as a $1.7 million electric engine, cites at least $25,000 in damage, and quotes Johnson saying it “belonged to him because of the Lord.”
- Johnson remains in custody on new felony and misdemeanor counts, and Boulder Fire-Rescue says coverage is intact using reserve engines as city fleet staff assess repairs.