A drunken 55-year-old Park County man accused of terrorizing his ex-girlfriend with a gun and holding her against her will told police that because she didn’t fight back, he thought she “was thankful for the way he was treating her.”
Lance Aichs waived his preliminary hearing and was bound over to felony court Wednesday on charges of aggravated assault and battery, false imprisonment and domestic battery, according to his court file.
Aichs is charged with holding a gun to his ex-girlfriend’s chest and head, physically restraining her and threatening that “he would shoot her and the dogs and then himself so they could all die together,” Park County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Andrew Gibson wrote in an affidavit of probable cause in Aichs’ case.
Gibson said the altercation between Aichs and his ex-girlfriend, who still live in the same home in a roommate-type arrangement, began earlier in the day March 6 when he was called to a disturbance at their home.
Later that day at about 4:30 p.m., he was called back, this time by the ex-girlfriend, who said she had just escaped an allegedly violent and drunken Aichs, Gibson wrote.
The woman had called from the Cody Elks Lodge and told Gibson she had just managed to get away after Aichs first threatened her with a handgun, then gave her the gun and dared her to use it, the affidavit says.
She was at home taking a shower and getting ready for work when Aichs called her cellphone at about 3:50 p.m., the affidavit says.
“She told Lance that she was getting ready for work and asked him to stay away from the house until she has left for work,” Gibson wrote. The woman then said that “a short time later, she realized Lance had come into the house.”
That’s when he advanced toward her and brandished a Glock pistol from his waistband, “and pointed the gun at her chest and at her face,” the affidavit says. “Lance was holding the pistol about 10 inches from her during this time.”
‘He Would Shoot The Cops’
Aichs was yelling at his ex-girlfriend during this, telling her she wasn’t going to work that day, and that he would shoot her, their pets and himself, according to the affidavit.
When the woman tried to make a phone call, Aichs slapped it out of her hand and stomped on it. She told him if she didn’t show up for her job, her coworkers would call the police.
“Lance told her he would shoot the cops if they showed up,” Gibson wrote, adding that’s when the altercation continued to escalate with Aichs at one point putting the gun down and telling his ex-girlfriend to pick it up.
“(Aichs) was yelling at her to pick up the gun and shoot him,” the affidavit says. “She stated that she ran upstairs with the gun and Lance was chasing her up the stairs.
“When she got to the top of the stairs she threw the gun under a piece of furniture. … At this point, (she) stated that Lance continued to push her around.”
Asking For Help
Their physical struggle tumbled outside the home with the ex-girlfriend trying to get away from Aichs, the affidavit says. But he tackled her in the driveway.
At this point, the ex-girlfriend was able to get the attention of a woman driving by their house, yelling at her to call for help and warning her that Aichs was dangerous, Gibson wrote.
“She asked the driver of the car to call 911,” the affidavit says, adding the driver was a woman. “The driver of the vehicle began to ask if everything is OK, which caused Lance to approach the vehicle to explain the situation.”
That’s when the ex-girlfriend finally escaped, getting to her truck and driving away. Because she didn’t have her phone with her, she went to the Cody Elks Lodge and called police.
Gibson wrote that he later tracked down the driver of the car, who told him the ex-girlfriend was “yelling and screaming and crying at times,” including telling the driver to keep away from Aichs because he had a gun and was dangerous.
The driver said she left when the ex-girlfriend got to her truck and drove off.
The then told Gibson that “she did not call police because (the ex) had left and she assumed she would contact the police herself if she wanted to,” according to the affidavit.
Blew A 0.28%
When he caught up with Aichs, Gibson said the man admitted to confronting his ex-girlfriend, but that he was drunk and jealous.
“Lance state that he caught (the woman) at the Elks Lodge with another man and it made him upset,” the affidavit says.
When he couldn’t find her at the lodge, he got drunk and damaged some items in their home, then left and spent the day drinking at a friend’s house.
After his arrest, Aichs blew a 0.280% blood alcohol content, Gibson reports.
Aichs also told Gibson that he grabbed his loaded Glock 17 Gen 5 pistol when he came into the house, “and proceeded to tell (her) that he would not let her go to work,” according to the affidavit.
He also said that when he had his ex-girlfriend cornered, she was submissive and didn’t fight back.
He took that as “implying that (she) was thankful for the way he was treating her,” Gibson wrote. “Throughout the interview … Lance stated repeatedly that (she) should not be at the bar.”
When pressed about the gun and pointing it at his ex-girlfriend, the affidavit says Aichs said that, “I probably picked the gun up out of the drawer and said, ‘I’ll f***ing shoot you, I swear to God.’
“Lance then implied that he changed his mind and gave the gun to (her).”
He also said that he’s not normally like that, “but he got very angry and was under the influence of alcohol,” the affidavit says.
Court records show that Aichs was assigned a public defender to represent him, but that representation was withdrawn because he doesn’t meet the financial threshold. A new attorney hasn’t yet filed as representing him.
If convicted of felony aggravated assault and battery, Aichs could get up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
False imprisonment and domestic battery are both misdemeanors, punishable respectively by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, and up to six months in jail and fine of not more than $750.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
