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Utah man faces charges after naked rampage on interstateCHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Prosecutors have filed three felony charges against a Utah man accused of ramming another vehicle on Interstate 80, firing shots from a stolen handgun and running naked in traffic.
Armando Juan Cano of Moroni, Utah, went on the bizarre rampage Wednesday night about 33 miles west of Rawlins, in south-central Wyoming, the Wyoming Highway Patrol said.
Sweetwater County prosecutors on Friday charged the 26-year-old with aggravated assault and battery, aggravated burglary, attempt to commit burglary and misdemeanor counts of public indecency and interference with a peace officer.
Three people suffered minor injuries in the episode, including Cano.
Cano made his first appearance in Rock Springs circuit court on Friday. The judge set Cano's bond at $100,000 and scheduled a July 1 preliminary hearing, said John Prokos, Sweetwater County chief deputy county and prosecuting attorney.
Cano told the court that he would attempt to hire his own lawyer, Prokos said. Cano would not enter a plea to the charges until arraigned in district court.
An operator at the Sweetwater County jail declined to make Cano available for a phone interview. He doesn't have a phone listing in his hometown.
Highway Patrol Lt. Robert Garner said investigators haven't figured out the reasons behind the Cano's behavior. Toxicology results were pending Friday.
"We're investigating the possibility that this may have been a drug-induced type of thing, but that's still under investigation," Garner said.
When he was arrested, Cano's "utterances were irrational and alluded to fear and paranoia," according to an arrest affidavit released Friday.
The Highway Patrol first got word of Cano at about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday, when callers reported an eastbound driver swerving on the interstate. Cano then pulled over and allowed the car to roll into a ditch while he was running into the roadway naked, according to the affidavit.
Cano got back in his car and rammed another vehicle off the road before stopping his car in the middle of the interstate, according to the Highway Patrol. He then forced his way into the car of a woman who had come to a stop along with other traffic that was blocked by Cano's car, police said.
Cano found a lawfully concealed handgun in the car's back seat and fired two shots, one that narrowly missed the woman's head and another than went out the passenger window, the affidavit said. Cano left the woman's vehicle and fired another shot in an unknown direction before getting into his car and driving east another mile, the affidavit said.
Cano stopped again in a roadside ditch, ran across the highway in traffic and picked up an object and threw it at a passing vehicle, breaking the driver's side window, the affidavit said.
Police say Cano then lay on his back in the left lane of traffic. When a passing motorist attempted to help Cano to his feet, Cano stabbed the man in the leg with a sharp object. Garner said Friday investigators don't know what Cano used to stab the man. The victim was bandaged at the scene.
That's when a Highway Patrol trooper arrived and was able to subdue Cano with the help of four passing truckers.
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posted by rich at 8:56 AM
