Crime & Safety

Kaiser Court Standoff Ends in Charges for St. Michael Man

A St. Michael man threatened a neighbor with a shotgun and then holed up in his home while authorities attempted to arrest him, according to a complaint filed in Wright County last week.

A display of rage witnessed slowly devolved into a neighborhood standoff Monday, Aug. 1, ending with the arrest of a St. Michael man. 

Michael David Meisenholder, 43, St. Michael, now faces charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and terroristic threats. He made his first court appearance late last week. 

The incident started shortly after 3 p.m. on Aug. 1 when a 911 emergency call was placed to about a man wielding a rifle, threatening a neighbor in the 3500 block of Kaiser Court Northeast in St. Michael. 

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According to the criminal complaint, Meisenholder was shouting at a neighbor when the incident escalated, Meisenholder went inside and returned with a rifle.

Deputies responding to the call found Steve Bredesen, the party witness to Meisenholders rage, in his home next door. Bredesen told the deputies the two were shouting at one another but Mesienholder returned from his home after disappearing for a while with a rifle, and "threatened to shoot him." 

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Bredesen told officers he knew Meisenholder and was aware the man was "unstable," according to the complaint. 

A deputy then tried to call Meisenholder on the phone. Meisenholder told the officer he was in a fight, but that he "did not own any firearms." 

Wright County officers then set up a perimeter around the Meisenholder residence after he refused to come outside and talk to deputies on scene. 

About an hour later, Mary Meisenholder, Michael's wife, answered the door and told police her husband was inside the residence and was "extremely intoxicated." She went on to say her husband owned two rifles and a handgun, and was ready for the deputies to come in and "storm his house." 

Deputies maintained a perimeter on scene, and did not attempt to enter the house, "given the tense situation," the complaint continued. Officers rotated, stayed at bay and maintained contact. Meisenholder emerged the next morning, around 8:02 a.m., and voluntarily surrendered to police. 

Deputies executed a search warrant and were able to seize "several" firearms, the complaint concludes. 

Meisenholder made his initial appearance in court Aug. 2, and was released on $50,000 bail with conditions that he not come in contact with any firearms, nor should he contact his neighbors. He is also not able to leave the state. 

He must appear for his Rule 8 hearing, which is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 15 in Wright County District Court.

Second-degree assault carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and/or a $14,000 fine. Terroristic threats carries a five-year sentence with $10,000 fine. 


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