New Milford magician, security guard charged in police standoff, shooting

Kevin Mohan, right, was arraigned in Bantam Monday afternoon after prosecutors said he was involved in a standoff with police on Sunday that left a New Milford officer with a minor gunshot wound. His attorney, Lawrence Peck, accompanied him in court. less Kevin Mohan, right, was arraigned in Bantam Monday afternoon after prosecutors said he was involved in a standoff with police on Sunday that left a New Milford officer with a minor gunshot wound. His attorney, ... more Photo: Barry Lytton /Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Barry Lytton /Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close New Milford magician, security guard charged in police standoff, shooting 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

What began with a 911 caller threatening suicide in New Milford on Sunday afternoon escalated to threats of a “sniper rifle” and booby-trap bombs, gunfire inside a condo and the gunshot wounding of a police officer.

Kevin Mohan, 47, a school security guard and part-time magician, called 911 around 2:30 p.m. and threatened to “blow his head off,” according to court documents.

When police arrived, his roommate met them outside and warned them an intoxicated Mohan intended to commit “suicide by cop.”

A neighbor handed officers a bullet casing and told them Mohan had already fired one shot, documents show. Officers surrounded the condo complex and directed neighbors to leave the area. While they waited for backup, they heard two more shots.

Mohan then told a police dispatcher he had booby-trapped the condo’s back door with bombs and had a “sniper rifle” aimed at officers.

After a 30-minute standoff, Mohan walked outside in shorts and a T-shirt, carrying a handgun. When he ignored orders to drop the gun, Officer Charles Cochran approached him with a stun gun.

Cochran fired, but Mohan managed to get off a shot that grazed one of Cochran’s ankles. The officer was not seriously hurt.

Mohan was charged Monday in state Superior Court in Bantam with first-degree assault, threatening in the first degree and assault on a police officer. He is being held on $500,000 bond.

Mohan, wearing a hospital gown and surgical scrub pants and limping heavily, made a brief court appearance Monday afternoon. He said little, except to answer a judge’s questions in a low voice, seldom making eye contact.

His attorney, Lawrence Peck, said Mohan has had “mental health issues,” adding he has been sober for six years.

Friends who have known Mohan through the Danbury Top Hatters magic club said the Mohan they know “would never harm anyone,” although he had been going through some difficult times lately.

Club member Robert Abel, of Bethel, said it has been nearly a year since Mohan has come to meetings, adding“he has fallen on some hard times lately,” with a divorce and an accident resulting in a shattered ankle and several surgeries.

“I think it was after the accident that things really started to go downhill for him,” Abel said, adding Mohan is a wonderful magician. “I am just so surprised that he would be involved in something like this. He is a very talented man.”

Other members of the club said they were surprised Mohan had a gun, given that he holds a black belt in taekwondo.

Mohan had several jobs over the years, they said, including selling kitchen cabinets and working as a security guard at Canterbury School. According to Mohan’s Facebook page, he worked last year as a security guard at New Milford Hospital.

His Facebook page stated Mohan had completed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s active-shooter training class.

Mohan is due in court July 19.