Los Angeles man arrested after terrorizing people during bizarre crime spree near Yosemite National Park

A Los Angeles man has been arrested after a bizarre day-long crime spree in Central California that included a chase, an attempted kidnapping and an assault earlier this week.

According to a Facebook post from the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office, the ordeal began around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 120 in the Buck Meadows area.

The suspect, identified as Anthony Mehlhaff, 40, approached a pregnant waitress at a restaurant and reached out to touch her stomach before saying: “The spirits led me to you and your baby belongs to me. What time is your break? Because I’ll be waiting for you.”

He then stole several drinks, assaulted another member of the restaurant staff and sped off in his car toward Yosemite National Park.

“At 3:00 p.m. multiple calls began coming into the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office 911 emergency center,” the MCSD statement said. “Reports were received of a possible car accident, kidnapping, assault, stolen vehicles and other suspicious circumstances occurring near Fish Camp.”

Those calls came after Yosemite National Park rangers tried to stop Mehlhaaff on Highway 41, which runs within the park boundaries. However, he kept driving and eventually reached the Fish Camp area, where he crashed his car and stole a bicycle, the statement said.

Before leaving, he took off his shirt and handed it to someone, saying, “You might want to keep this, I’m going to be famous.”

He then entered the kitchen of the Tenaya Lodge through a back door, where he left his hat and other items inside a refrigerator, according to the statement.

At that point, officers say he grabbed a knife and began threatening the workers.

“Melhalff left the lodge kitchen and walked to a creek area near the Tenaya Lodge Clubhouse where he removed his pants, wallet and car keys,” the Facebook post said. “He then entered the Clubhouse in only his underwear and told guests to leave or they would be in danger.”

Officers say Mehlhaff trashed the inside of the clubhouse before assaulting the store manager and taking his keys, attempting to force him away from the premises. However, the manager managed to escape from Mehlhaff.

This didn’t stop him from continuing his rampage, as he stole the manager’s car and drove down Highway 41 toward Oakhurst.

“While driving on Highway 41, Mehlhaff encountered a Tesla and began to behave extremely aggressively behind the wheel, tailgating the Tesla while making aggressive hand gestures,” the statement said. “Mehlhaff eventually began to ram the Tesla.”

Officers eventually arrived on the scene, found the two cars and attempted to stop Mehlhaff, who instead fled. He continued driving until he reached the town of Oakhurst, where he crashed.

After being taken into custody, the suspect was transported to a local hospital for evaluation. There he began assaulting Mariposa County sheriff’s deputies, the release said.

He was booked into the Mariposa County Jail and is being held on $100,000 bail.

While searching his car, investigators discovered an Enola Gay smoke grenade inside, prompting them to call the Merced Bomb Squad to the scene.

“This man drove around the county terrorizing our visitors and community members,” Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said. “I’m very 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’m proud of the work done by our staff and the partnerships created that give us the ability to stop criminals who continue to harm our communities.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that Mehlhaff is the frontman for the Los Angeles punk band Cancer Christ.