Missoula Man Follows Woman to Her Home and Shoots at Her Mother
At around 10:15 p.m. on Saturday, Missoula Police received reports of gunshots fired in the city. The reported shooting was in the 1700 block of Cooley Street and there were seven separate 911 callers. Missoula police officers responded and met a crowd that was gathered there. One officer observed three silver 9 MM bullet casing in the middle of the roadway and he collected them for evidence.
One female reported that she had been driving eastbound on Mullan Road near Great Northern Loop. She had two passengers in the car with her. When they were driving, a silver vehicle pulled out in front of her near Bone and Joint and slammed on its brakes nearly causing a collision. The vehicle did this a second time and was then driving extremely slowly.
At one point, the silver vehicle pulled to the right side of the road and allowed the female to pass, but then the silver vehicle followed her home. The female called her mother who was waiting outside their home. When she parked in front of her home, the silver vehicle parked behind her and the male driving the silver vehicle was yelling at her.
The female’s mother was in front of her home and yelled at the male asking, “what’s your problem!?” and told him to leave. Court documents indicate the male then shot a gun out of his window three times at the female’s mother and other people who were standing in the roadway. The male then drove away.
A neighboring trailer had surveillance footage that showed the shots being fired and also that the female’s mother was unarmed and nowhere near the male’s car. The surveillance also shows other individuals directly in the line of fire based on where one bullet impacted a nearby truck.
Police then obtained surveillance video from Mountain States Collision on Birch Street that showed the victim vehicle and suspect vehicle pass the business. On Monday, a Missoula Police Corporal was on patrol in when he observed the suspect vehicle near South Avenue and Johnson Street. The vehicle had a Montana license plate and was registered to Cody Johnson. The officer initiated a traffic stop and the driver exited as instructed. Police Public Information Officer Lydia Arnold explains.
“31-year-old Cody Johnson has been taken into police custody and charged with attempted homicide in connection with what was initially reported to Missoula Police as a road rage incident,” Arnold said. “The Missoula Police Department has determined through their investigation that the victims in this case did nothing to instigate the matter. Johnson was taken into custody without incident by Missoula Police Officers on the afternoon of October 19, 2021.”
A search warrant was applied for and granted by Judge Halligan. Inside the vehicle, police located a Beretta APX 9 MM handgun in the center console. The gun had approximately 10 silver 9 MM Hornady brand rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. A detective confirmed that the shell casings found at the scene of the shooting were also silver 9 mm Hornaday rounds.
Johnson is currently being charged with attempted deliberate homicide and his bail was set at $250,000.