The singer of hardcore punk band Cancer Christ was arrested in his underwear after “terrorizing” park visitors during a rampage in Yosemite.
Anthony Mehlhaff’s chaotic crime spree, 40, included an assault, an attempted kidnapping and a robbery before he led a wild police chase in a stolen vehicle before the bare-chested vandal was handcuffed Wednesday afternoon.
His trail of destruction began around 1:45 p.m. when he allegedly assaulted a pregnant waitress by touching her stomach and telling her, “No, no, no.”The spirits guided me to you and your baby belongs to me, and what time is your break because I’ll be waiting for you?
After stealing some drinks, he assaulted another restaurant employee and drove off in his vehicle toward Yosemite National Park. Several people called 911 to report the suspect.
Yosemite Park rangers attempted to stop Mehlhaff, but he continued his path of terror through Merced and Mariposa counties.
Anthony Mehlhaff was booked into the Mariposa County Jail and is being held on $100,000 bail.
Anthony Mehlhaff’s chaotic crime spree, 40, included a mugging, an attempted kidnapping and a robbery before he set off on a wild police chase in a stolen vehicle.
The furious rocker crashed his vehicle, stole a bicycle and reportedly took off his shirt and handed it to a passerby telling them: “You’ll want to keep this, I’m going to be famous,” according to Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office.
During his erratic behavior he threw beer cans out of the car window.
At one point, he entered the Tenaya Lodge kitchen through a back door, placed his hat and other items inside a refrigerator, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began threatening some of the workers.
He then walked to a nearby creek located next to the Tenya Lodge Clubhouse and stripped off his clothes, removing his pants, wallet and car keys.
The punk musician, who calls himself ‘San Antonio’, entered the club in just his underwear and told customers to leave or they would be in danger.
Mehlhaff then began tearing apart the clubhouse.
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The official said he reportedly assaulted the store manager, took his car keys and tried to kidnap him, forcing him to drive him out of the area, but the store manager was able to escape his grasp.
Mehlhaff drove off in the victim’s vehicle and continued down Highway 41 toward Oakhurst. That’s when he encountered a Tesla and began to behave extremely aggressively behind the wheel, following the Tesla closely while making aggressive hand gestures.
According to police, Mehlhaff began crashing his vehicle into the Tesla before Mariposa County sheriff’s deputies attempted to intervene.
He was arrested after crashing the stolen vehicle on Highway 41 outside the town of Oakhurst.
While being discharged from a local hospital, he began assaulting Mariposa County sheriff’s deputies.
He was eventually booked into the Mariposa County Jail and is currently being held on $100,000 bail.
During a search of Mehlhaff’s vehicle, which was registered in his name, an Enola Gay smoke grenade was located inside the door panel.
The Merced bomb squad was called in to tamper with the device.
The punk musician refers to himself as ‘Saint Anthony’
Mehlhaff faces charges of vandalism, vehicle theft, reckless driving, kidnapping, larceny, first-degree robbery, theft, obstructing an officer and assault, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The news of his arrest brought relief to many in the community and surrounding areas.
One person wrote: ‘He also terrorized Groveland for days! Multiple complaints were made to Tuolumne County Sheriff’s deputies but he was not caught. I’m glad he was caught. He was getting dangerous.’
“I wonder how many times this guy has been released despite being obviously dangerous,” another person added.
The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office thanked its partners – the Yosemite National Park Service, the Oakhurst California Highway Patrol, the Merced Bomb Squad and the Madera County Sheriff’s Office – for their assistance with this case.
“This man drove around the county terrorizing our visitors and community members. I’m so glad no one was seriously injured, this man’s behavior was erratic and dangerous,” Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said.
“This is just a small preview of what we may encounter at any given time. I am proud of the work our staff is doing and the partnerships we have created, which give us the ability to stop criminals who continue to harm our communities.”