On July 10, 2025, at approximately 4:33 P.M., officers of the Austin Police Department were dispatched to 805 4th Street NW [APT REDACTED] in the City of Austin, County of Mower, for a property damage report. The reporting party (C. D. R., an adult male) advised that a tenant in [APT REDACTED] was breaking windows. Officer Johnson arrived and made contact with C. D. R. C. D. R. Stated that a tenant in another apartment told him that a male named, "Monte," later identified as MONTE JEREMIAH THURMAN, DOB/070306, the defendant herein, had broken a window in the apartment.
C. D. R. Also advised that the defendant was evicted on July 7, 2025, but that he still had thirty days to leave the apartment. C. D. R. Requested the officers to check on the defendant's apartment to make sure there was no active property damage occurring. Officer Johnson went to [APT REDACTED] and made contact with the defendant. Johnson was familiar with the defendant and recalled recent communications advising officers that the defendant may be carrying a firearm. When the defendant answered the door, he had one hand behind his back, so Johnson asked the defendant to show his hands.
The defendant complied. As the defendant was standing in the doorway, Johnson observed a smaller style handgun laying on the couch approximately ten feet from where the defendant was standing. For the officer's safety, Johnson asked the defendant to step into the commons area to take a seat in order to remove the defendant from the handgun in the apartment. The defendant asked questions and refused to follow the instructions given. The defendant then turned around and began walking straight back to where the handgun was sitting.
Johnson unholstered his firearm and gave the defendant commands to get on the ground. When Johnson stated that the defendant was going towards the gun, the defendant responded, "I was going to give it to you." When asked if there were any other guns in the residence, the defendant stated "no," and that "the gun is not real." Officer Johnson requested a criminal history check and was advised by dispatch that the defendant was disqualified from possession of a firearm/ammunition. The defendant was placed under arrest and transported to the Mower County Jail.
It was also determined that the defendant had an active warrant. Det. Strouf was contacted to assist in the investigation. Prior to this incident, Strouf was investigating the defendant as a suspect in three burglaries that occurred in the City of Austin over the past several months. One of the burglaries occurred earlier in the year at Runnings where firearms, including an AR-15, was stolen. Det. Strouf applied for and was granted a search warrant for the defendant's residence. During the execution of the warrant, law enforcement located the following items: 2 e -22LF bullet; Clothing and other evidence associated with the burglaries; Tippman Arms M4.22LR AR-15 style rifle (located in the ceiling tiles above the defendant's bedroom); AR-15 style magazine with three.22LR rounds in it (located in the defendant's bedroom closet); and Precise.22 start pistol (located on top of the couch). Upon review of the AR-15 style rifle, law enforcement observed that the serial number was severely scratched making it unreadable.
