A punk rock band frontman allegedly threatened to steal a pregnant waitress's unborn baby in purportedly one of several instances during a "terrorizing trek" through two central California counties.
On Wednesday, Anthony Mehlhaff, 40, of Los Angeles, allegedly walked up to a server at a Mariposa County, California, restaurant, put his hand on her pregnant belly and eerily said, "the spirits led me to you and your baby belongs to me, and what time is your break because I will be waiting for you," according to the sheriff's office.
The Cancer Christ lead singer then allegedly proceeded to steal several drinks and assault another employee at the restaurant before fleeing to Yosemite National Park.
An hour later, dispatch received multiple reports of a possible car chase, kidnapping, assault, stolen vehicles, and other suspicious circumstances all occurring near the park's Fish Camp.
Park rangers attempted a traffic stop on Mehlhaff, who instead crashed his car, tore off his shirt and told a bystander, "you'll want to keep this, I'm going to be famous." He then allegedly hopped on a stolen bicycle, broke through the back door of the Tenaya Lodge kitchen, put his belongings in a fridge, grabbed a kitchen knife and threatened workers, according to the sheriff.
Once out of the kitchen, Melhaff walked to a creek and began to strip down to his underwear near the lodge's clubhouse, warning nearby customers to leave or they would be in danger.
The chaos continued as the "God Hates Cops" singer allegedly assaulted and attempted to kidnap a store manager to force him to act as his getaway driver, but the manager was able to escape.
Melhaff allegedly proceeded to steal the manager's car and speed down the highway, where he encountered a Tesla driver and began to exhibit "extreme road rage behavior," subsequently ramming into the Tesla.
The musician eventually crashed the car he was driving and was taken into custody, but not before allegedly assaulting an arresting deputy.
A search of the initial vehicle registered to Melhaff allegedly turned up a smoke grenade.
Melhaff is being held on $100,000 bail.
"This man drove all around our county terrorizing our visitors and community members," Sheriff Jeremy Briese said in a statement. "I am extremely happy that no one was seriously injured, this man's behavior was erratic and dangerous. This is just a glimpse of what we encounter at any given time. I am proud of the work done by our staff and partnerships built that give us the ability to apprehend criminals who continue to harm our communities."
