Around midnight on March 14, officer Loren Mardis stood at an apartment door in Helena, his finger on the trigger of his pistol and looking down the barrel of the handgun Joshua Erickson was pointing at him.

"I was as close to discharging my firearm at a human being as I have ever come during my time at this department and with the reserves," the Helena Police Department officer testified in federal court on Thursday. "The only thing that prevented me from pulling the trigger is that I moved.

"... I still, to this day, remember very vividly exactly what the gun looked like and how big the barrel was."

Erickson pleaded guilty earlier this year to possessing a firearm even though he had previously been committed to a mental health facility, a violation of federal law.

On Thursday, he was supposed to be sentenced, and U.S. District Court Senior Judge Charles Lovell had a range of options, from putting Erickson on probation to a maximum of 10 years in federal prison. The sentencing guideline range was from 27 to 33 months.

Instead, after three hours of testimony, Lovell ordered the 23-year-old Erickson to report to a federal mental health criminal institution to be evaluated by experts. Lovell said he would sentence Erickson afterward, and the young man was immediately taken into custody by U.S. Marshals.

The March 14 incident was the latest difficulty in Erickson's life, which includes abandonment by his mother as a young child, two stints in Warm Springs, and an angry rampage at the governor's mansion.

Erickson testified that he was drinking beers with some friends the night of the gun incident, and they went to a hockey game. He carried with him a Sig Sauer .45-caliber pistol, loaded with hollow-point bullets that he had bought that day.

"I brought the gun to my buddy's house," Erickson said, adding that he was excited about target shooting the next day.

But on the way back from the game, a car cut off their vehicle, and Erickson waved the gun at the other car's occupants. They called the police, who traced the car to Erickson's friend's apartment.

Mardis said he stood outside the door with officer Robert Murphy. He knocked loudly, and announced "Helena Police Department. Open the door."

Erickson said he thought it was friends playing a joke on him, so he brought the gun to the door when he answered it. When he saw the officers, Erickson said he put the gun on the floor.

Mardis and Murphy remembered it differently, saying Erickson raised his weapon as they did the same. He was moments -- not seconds, but moments -- away from being shot by the officers, Mardis said.

"This whole thing could have ended with people leaving in stretchers and body bags," said Paulette Stewart, a prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office. "But for the grace of God all three of them are here today at this sentencing. They could have been on administrative leave because they could have shot and killed Joshua Erickson. They were within a hair's breadth of doing that."

Family, friends and co-workers who spoke on Erickson's behalf in the courtroom said he readily acknowledges his poor judgment in this case and takes full responsibility for his actions. They said he's matured in the past year and described him as a caring person who has turned his life around, who holds a steady job and is held in high esteem, who pays his taxes and stays out of trouble except when his judgment is clouded by alcohol.

"He's an outstanding employee who does exactly what we ask of him and way beyond," said Dean Bjerke, owner of Silver City Stone and Diamond Construction, who also is Erickson's former father-in-law. "He has a smile on his face every day when he comes to work and it's a pleasure to have him in our family."

His mother, Connie Erickson, noted how life hasn't been easy for her son, who spent his formative years in foster care. Connie and James Erickson adopted him when he was about 4 1/2 years old. He was insecure, with anger issues and moderate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

When he became a senior in high school, he began suffering from depression that would cycle into a manic phase that would turn violent, Connie Erickson testified.

He was voluntarily committed to Warm Springs in 2003, but didn't get the care he needed. He began to punch holes in walls and doors and hit his father, and his parents eventually took out a restraining order against him.

In July 2005, Joshua Erickson showed up on the porch of the governor's mansion.

He rang the doorbell, which was answered by First Lady Nancy Schweitzer, and confronted her about his dissatisfaction in the job Gov. Brian Schweitzer was doing. Nancy Schweitzer slammed the door shut and locked it, then called police. Meanwhile, Erickson grabbed a baseball bat, swinging it and breaking wind chimes and other items.

Erickson left the scene, but later was arrested near the Montana Rail Link offices on Railroad Avenue, after he had threatened to throw a chair through the window. He was charged with a variety of misdemeanors and received a deferred sentence in that case.

He also went to Warm Springs for 90 days this time, and emerged as a new person, his family and friends said.

They believe that as long as he stays away from liquor, he can be a productive member of society. He wants to continue his education and become a nurse. His ex-wife testified that they're seeing one another again, and he's taking life more seriously, thinking about his future.

But both Stewart and Lovell were concerned that despite his recent history of staying out of trouble, they're worried about the pattern of violence in his past.

"His uncontrolled anger, coupled with intoxication, coupled with his mental health issues, makes him dangerous," Stewart said. "I know his family supports him, which I think is fabulous, and I don't think he will hurt anybody. But he almost ended up dead."

Lovell said based on Erickson's history, he could be sentenced to a long term in prison, which might not be fair. He could be released and put on probation, based on his recent actions, but that also might not be fair to the community.

"I want a professional opinion rather than the unprofessional ones we got today," Lovell said. "The court believes this is a case of mental illness that is either inadequately treated or untreated. That it is untreated is in part because the defendant is in denial and refuses to take his medication and refuses to attend counseling."

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com