Defendant injured leaping from third-floor courtroom window

DENVER - Faced with the prospect of a felony charge and a return to jail, Josephus Haynes made a decision to defy the law of the court and the law of gravity.

Denver County Sheriff Captain Frank Gale says Haynes threw himself through a closed, locked window on the third floor of the Denver City and County building on Wednesday morning.

Haynes, 41, landed on a metal air-conditioning vent below. He was taken to Denver Health Medical Center and as of Wednesday night, was listed in serious condition.

At the time of the jump, Gale said Haynes was shackled at the ankles but not handcuffed.

For a short time following the incident, Colfax Avenue, which runs along the north side of the building where Haynes jumped, was closed to traffic.

"It's crazy," said Willy Bell, who stopped on the sidewalk to survey the scene.

"I ain't never heard of nobody doing nothing like that," he said. "And I've been here since '72!"

Gale says Haynes went through the window just as County Court Judge Doris Burde told Haynes that the misdemeanor assault charge he faced could be elevated to a felony, due to his lengthy criminal record.

A check of Haynes' criminal history shows numerous arrests for burglary, trespassing, disturbing the peace and resisting arrest dating back to 1987. The 16-page "rap sheet" also notes he sometimes uses the name "Buckwheat."

According to those records, Haynes was released from jail Feb. 19 after serving time for, among other things, assault. He was arrested later that same day and charged with another count of assault.

Gale says Haynes is not the first to jump through a courtroom window, but perhaps the first to attempt the feat from such a height.

"I can't remember one in my 19 years that's jumped out of the third floor," Gale said. "It's not the kind of thing that I think people would expect would happen."

Gale says that is why court deputies generally guard the courtroom door, as opposed to the opposite side of the room.

"It's not really anticipated that inmates would jump out of a three story closed window," he said.