Rooftop climber at Pasco mission has May 4 trial date

The man who climbed on top of the Union Gospel Mission in Pasco and threatened to throw staff from the roof now faces a May 4 trial.

John M. Lutes, 30, has pleaded innocent in Franklin County Superior Court to one count of felony harassment.

Police were called to the 112 N. Second Ave. mission at 9:25 a.m. March 9 for reports of a man fighting with employees on the roof.

Lutes, a transient, is believed to have gotten on the roof using an outside fire escape. Staff members followed him up in an attempt to talk him down.

Instead, Lutes told them to leave him alone and said, “If they didn’t go down, he would throw them down,” according to court documents.

Lutes then allegedly picked up a piece of a 2-by-4 with a nail in the board, and held it in a threatening manner.

He dropped the board at some point and told the staff members that they were going to die if they didn’t leave the roof immediately, documents said.

Firefighters extended a ladder to reach Lutes, and used a backboard to get him off the roof.

The two victims later told officers that they felt Lutes could carry out his threats.

He is in the Franklin County jail on $2,500 bail and has a state Department of Corrections hold.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Rooftop climber at Pasco mission has May 4 trial date."