Crestone Cops Under Scrutiny for Killing Local Man

The Saguache Sheriff's Department known for the Love Has Won cult raid and the Kristal Reisinger case are under scrutiny over the shooting death of a 40-yr old resident and guitar expert.

Be Scofield is a prominent cult reporter who exposed Love Has Won which led to the hit HBO series. She is the author of Hunting Lucifer: One Reporter's Search for Cults and Demons. Her work is cited by the NY Times, Rolling Stone, People, Netflix, and more.

July 27th, 2024

WARNING: Graphic images below

Just hours after the shooting death of Jonathan Wood the Colorado Bureau of Investigation released a statement titled, "Pipe-wielding suspect fatally shot by deputy near Crestone." They allege Wood began "attacking the deputy with a 4-foot metal pipe" before the deputy fired two shots fatally wounding him. In lockstep motion news outlets published the CBI statement word-for-word as news articles. It's the job of the press to challenge authority, not regurgitate it uncritically.

The "pipe," however, was a lightweight, skinny and hollow 5-ft copper pipe that was thinner than a broomstick. Wood carried it everyday over his shoulder with his satchel attached to the end. Some described it as similar to a walking stick.

Photos from the scene reveal the pipe was so thin that it bent. Steve McDowell, owner of the Crestone Hardware, told me he sold the copper tubing to Wood. "I think the guy had some mental issues but that's no reason to kill him," he told me. "The pipe was not a big deal." He said Wood came in almost daily and was a "really nice guy." McDowell would often hold items he purchased until Wood could arrange transportation.

And the deputy sustained no real injuries. The CBI report stated that he was "treated for minor injuries" at the hospital and released but that may have been procedural or done to make it appear more serious.

Jonathan Wood aka Jonny was making his daily 3.5 mile walk home on Camino Baca Grande when a deputy stopped him for a warrant. The deputy alleges Wood then began hitting him with the copper pipe.

It seems unlikely the situation demanded use of deadly force. The deputy could have walked away, used pepper spray or tased Wood. He could have deescalated the situation by backing away and saying "drop the pipe." The deputy did have a body camera recording. If released it should provide insight into the encounter.

A Crestone local told me she drove by right after the incident happened and he was alive. "I saw him off the side of the road and two guys were trying to help him up but he couldn't stand up." Another witness saw the two men a few minutes later trying to perform CPR on him. And another said they saw Wood alive with his arms behind his back handcuffed moving.

Another witness saw Wood sitting on the ground while the deputy was in his car. He saw the two men trying to assist him as well.

Shortly after this an ambulance arrived as another witness told me she saw one there.

A Crestone resident was on the scene just minutes after Jonathan was shot. "He was shot twice," he told me. "Once in the leg below the knee and the other in his side. The bullet went in one side and out the other." He said Jonathan survived about 30 minutes and then he passed away at the scene.

Many Crestone locals I talked with are upset over his death. "The cops have increased their presence over the last few weeks and now someone is dead," a woman told me. "I'm so angry." Another resident chimed in online. "This is outrageous. The police officer should not have fired his gun and killed an innocent man."

"Why did they immediately use deadly force?" A close friend of Jonathan's wrote on Facebook. "Why didn’t they engage with a less lethal action? Why didn’t they approach him with a mental health counselor. Why? Why does John have to be dead?!"

Sheriff's Department Knew of Jonathan Wood's Mental Health Issues

A previous encounter reported by the Crestone Eagle with Saguache Deputies reveals Wood was struggling with mental health issues. In September 2023 Wood walked onto his neighbor's property with a club shouting that there were people yelling in their shed for help. When the deputies arrived he retreated to his RV where he told them Elon Musk and the YouTuber Mr. Beast were trying to kill him. He told them he had a transmitter in his head.

Deputies broke the RV window and Wood tried striking them with the club. They used pepper spray and made entry. Wood then allegedly punched one of the officers in the face. Despite this violent encounter the deputies subdued him without use of lethal force.

Wood was charged with trespassing, assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. He failed to appear in court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

"He was a really nice guy but he thought people were out to get him," John Gallaher told me. He had helped Wood transport some things from town out to his place a few times. "He had no phone or computer and he walked everywhere."

Crestone is not a stranger to people struggling with mental health issues. And many people come here because of previous abuse by cops or concerns about the government. Several residents echoed their frustrations over lack of resources to help people in need.

"He thought Crestone would be a good place to be when the world ends," Gallaher said.

Jonathan Wood Wasn't Homeless

People speculated that the shooting victim was homeless, but he owned a home in Crestone and had money. "He also had some cabins in Taos and a mobile home there," Gallaher told me. A Crestone resident told me she sold Jonathan Wood the property with cabins in Taos last year.

"He had been working very hard on finishing out the inside," a Crestone resident wrote on Facebook about his home. "He was excited, as it was very near completion, and he was going to be able to start living the life he had dreamed of." 

"He hired a contractor from Denver to build his home," Gallaher said. "He traveled to Peru and around for awhile and came back. But the contractor never finished the job. He had also been married to a Russian woman for 4.5 years."

Wood sold his guitar shop Dixie Guitar King in St. George Utah and his half a million dollar home and relocated to Crestone about nine months ago. He was a highly experienced audio engineer of 17-yrs and a guitar expert.

“I wanted to be a rock star and all that, and through life experience I realized I do not want fame or riches and have avoided every chance I have had,” Wood told the news in 2017. “I think we all have a contribution we can make to the world, and I believe music is part of mine.”

He came from a Mormon family in Utah and they called authorities for a welfare check in Taos on him last year. He was home and left the next day back to Crestone.

The owner of the Crestone Consignment shop said Wood had spent over $4,000 in her store in the last few months. "He was a really nice guy," she said. "I never saw any signs that he was mentally unwell. I talked to him every day. He was very smart, very well read."

Steve McDowell said Wood would transfer large amounts of money between his accounts. Since he didn't have a phone he'd use the stores. "He'd transfer like $20,000 at a time." The owner of the consignment shop said Wood did the same there. She heard the balance of one of his accounts during a call and it was $117,000. The woman who sold him the property in Taos told me he probably had between half a million to a million dollars at one point.

Carmen, the owner of the bookstore, said Wood had spent over $2,000 on books in the last several months. "Most of them were Buddhist," she said. "He did a nice job of making space in my store." She also described him as "really nice."

"The cops only get paid $20 an hour out here," a resident told me. "They don't have the proper training to deal with mental health issues either."

If you have information related to this story please contact me at bescofieldreporter @ gmail.com