Cheyenne Man Accused Of Threatening To Play ‘Russian Roulette’ With Women

A 38-year-old Cheyenne man who announced that he needed to get “strapped” at a local home Tuesday pulled out a pistol, pointed it at two women, and then said he was going to play “Russian roulette” with them.

He was surprised to find himself in handcuffs after allegedly making the threat.

Jonathan Douglas Potter faces a felony charge of aggravated assault and battery in Cheyenne Circuit Court, according to records filed Wednesday.

Court records show Laramie County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call from a home in the 1000 block of Alice Court in Cheyenne at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday for a report of a domestic disturbance with a weapon.

Deputies learned that Potter had arrived at the residence with a woman to deliver medication to the woman who owned the house. Potter then used the home’s bathroom.

“When he came out, he made a comment that he had to get ‘strapped,’” the arrest affidavit states. “He pulled out a handgun, a Bersa .380-caliber, and pointed it at them.”

Potter then “told them he was going to play Russian roulette with the handgun,” according to the affidavit. “(He) then took the magazine out of the handgun and put his finger through the trigger guard and swung the gun around his finger.”

‘Feared For Their Lives’

Both women told deputies that they “feared for their lives,” the affidavit states.

The woman who arrived with Potter ran and hid in the bathroom. The woman who owns the house asked Potter to leave “multiple times,” but he refused.

During an interview with a deputy following the incident, Potter, who was standing outside the residence, said he did not know what was happening.

He said he arrived at the home to “hang out” with the women and stepped outside to smoke a cigarette and then found himself “in handcuffs.”

After further questions from the deputy, Potter admitted he pulled out the firearm to let the women know he had one.

He said there was really “no goal” in taking it out, the affidavit says. He told the deputy that he refused to leave because he wanted to speak with the woman whom he had brought to the residence.

Potter denied pointing the gun at the women, but said when he pulled it out “it was pointing at him,” the affidavit states.

When questioned about releasing the magazine from the weapon, Potter told the deputy that he “did not recall” doing it, but that he “might have released” the magazine from the gun. 

Potter said he put the gun in his truck after the incident because the women were scared, the affidavit states.

Potter’s account of the altercation was “scattered at times” during questioning, the deputy wrote. Potter was then notified he was being arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon.

“Jonathan stated that the way he went about the situation with the two females was wrong,” the affidavit states.

The aggravated assault and battery charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.