Paranoid man with gun breaks into business ... to call the police

By JARED STRONG

j.strong@carrollspaper.com

A 27-year-old Carroll man who suspected he smoked marijuana laced with another unidentified drug broke into a downtown Jefferson business last week to use the landline telephone inside to call for help because he was paranoid that someone wanted to harm him and had hacked his cellphone, according to court records.

Roderick Alan Klampe II was armed with a .45-caliber handgun — which had one bullet ready to fire in its chamber and four more in its magazine — when he broke into the back door of Tech Zone, 104 N. Wilson Ave., about 2:50 a.m. on March 29.

Once inside, he called police and “was disruptive and sounded extremely confused and advised someone was coming after him,” court records show.

Klampe falsely identified himself as “Eric Johns” in the call because he worried he wasn’t actually talking to law enforcement, he later told police.

A surveillance video recording from the business showed Klampe break in and make the call. The recording shows him with the weapon and waving to security cameras, court records show.

Klampe initially claimed he was inside a bank, but when officers were unable to locate him he ran to the nearby courthouse. 

A police officer and deputy sheriff pointed their guns at Klampe and ordered him to lie on the ground where they handcuffed him.

Officers found the handgun tucked into his left armpit.

On the ride to jail Klampe worried that he and the officers would be shot with AR-15 rifles “at any minute” by the people who allegedly wanted to harm him. He was also worried about his family’s safety in Carroll.

Klampe is charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor carrying weapons, criminal mischief and possession of dangerous weapons while under the influence, court records show. 

The burglary charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted.

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