An Amherst man with mental health issues was arrested earlier this week on reckless and drugged driving charges after he sideswiped a vehicle on Niagara Falls Boulevard – but what was most disturbing to Niagara County sheriff’s deputies was what they later discovered on his smashed cellphone.
It was a text message that read: “I’m stressin’ bad and I want a few to calm me down before I pull the AR out.”
Edward J. Reppenhagen owns two assault rifles, deputies reported, although he wasn’t carrying them when he was taken into custody Monday afternoon.
Reppenhagen, 26, of Tonawanda Creek Road, was stopped by deputies just before 2 p.m. in the 2300 block of Niagara Falls Boulevard, in the Town of Wheatfield. He was observed driving on the wrong side of the road and had sideswiped a tractor-trailer before he was stopped, deputies said.
He appeared confused and slow, deputies reported, and was found carrying a jar of urine, which he said he kept for drug testing because he didn’t want anyone to know he takes medications for depression and to help in his recovery as a heroin addict.
Deputies said they also found a smashed cellphone and that Reppenhagen was evasive about whether he had been texting while he was driving.
He told deputies that he owned two assault rifles – ARs – but was not carrying them, according to a sheriff’s report.
A message deputies later recovered from the phone said, “I’m stressin’ bad and I want a few to calm me down before I pull the AR out,” the report said.
Reppenhagen was taken to Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston for a blood test and, while being treated, talked about “feeding a bearded dragon,” deputies reported. It was not clear Wednesday what he meant by that.
Due to the text message and mental health issues, deputies made contact with Reppenhagen’s girlfriend, who agreed to surrender Reppenhagen’s firearms, which were secured at the Sheriff’s Office.
It was unclear Wednesday exactly what kind of firearms Reppenhagen had, whether he owned them legally and how he got them.
Deputies also did not report what kind of drugs Reppenhagen allegedly had taken before his arrest.
He was charged with failure to keep right, moving from a lane unsafely, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, driving an unregistered motor vehicle, operating while impaired by drugs and refusal to take a breath test.
Reppenhagen was arraigned in Wheatfield Town Court and ordered held in lieu of $250 bail.
email: nfischer@buffnews.com
It was a text message that read: “I’m stressin’ bad and I want a few to calm me down before I pull the AR out.”
Edward J. Reppenhagen owns two assault rifles, deputies reported, although he wasn’t carrying them when he was taken into custody Monday afternoon.
Reppenhagen, 26, of Tonawanda Creek Road, was stopped by deputies just before 2 p.m. in the 2300 block of Niagara Falls Boulevard, in the Town of Wheatfield. He was observed driving on the wrong side of the road and had sideswiped a tractor-trailer before he was stopped, deputies said.
He appeared confused and slow, deputies reported, and was found carrying a jar of urine, which he said he kept for drug testing because he didn’t want anyone to know he takes medications for depression and to help in his recovery as a heroin addict.
Deputies said they also found a smashed cellphone and that Reppenhagen was evasive about whether he had been texting while he was driving.
He told deputies that he owned two assault rifles – ARs – but was not carrying them, according to a sheriff’s report.
A message deputies later recovered from the phone said, “I’m stressin’ bad and I want a few to calm me down before I pull the AR out,” the report said.
Reppenhagen was taken to Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston for a blood test and, while being treated, talked about “feeding a bearded dragon,” deputies reported. It was not clear Wednesday what he meant by that.
Due to the text message and mental health issues, deputies made contact with Reppenhagen’s girlfriend, who agreed to surrender Reppenhagen’s firearms, which were secured at the Sheriff’s Office.
It was unclear Wednesday exactly what kind of firearms Reppenhagen had, whether he owned them legally and how he got them.
Deputies also did not report what kind of drugs Reppenhagen allegedly had taken before his arrest.
He was charged with failure to keep right, moving from a lane unsafely, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, driving an unregistered motor vehicle, operating while impaired by drugs and refusal to take a breath test.
Reppenhagen was arraigned in Wheatfield Town Court and ordered held in lieu of $250 bail.
email: nfischer@buffnews.com
