Longmont man allegedly pulls gun in dispute over tree cutting

Police arrested a 37-year-old Longmont man who allegedly threatened another man with a hand gun during a Saturday morning dispute over the removal of a dead tree in a front yard in northside Longmont.

The suspect, identified by police as James Andrew Young, was taken to the Boulder County Jail and faces possible charges of menacing with a handgun and reckless endangerment, officers said.

Officer Mike Hazen said in a written report about the incident that a 40-year-old Berthoud man told officers he'd been in the process of removing a dead tree from a friend's property on the 2300 block of 22nd Avenue when the suspect later identified as Young pulled up in a vehicle, stopped along the roadway and told the Berthoud man that "I'm shutting you down."

The Berthoud man, whose 10-year-old son was nearby, told police that the suspect identified himself as being with a local tree care service and was certified to do such work.

At one point, the suspect removed a black handgun from his waist band and pointed it at the Berthoud man, that man told police, prompting him to run away and to yell a warning to his son.

The suspect briefly followed the running Berthoud man before driving away from the scene, whereupon the Berthoud man called police, Hazen said.

The Berthoud man's son told police that he witnessed the argument between his father and the other man and saw the other man point a gun at his father.

"He said he thought the man was going to shoot his dad," Hazen reported.

Police located Young a short time later, followed him and arrested him after stopping his vehicle near 11th Avenue and Sumner Street.

Hazen said Young told another officer that he'd gone to the scene to confront the Berthoud man about "removing trees without proper licensing," and that during the ensuing argument, the Berthoud man was shaking Young's car "violently, trying to get him to fight."

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Longmont man allegedly pulls gun in dispute over tree cutting