About half an hour after closing time, a St. Paul man walked into a bar on Arcade Street last winter and tried to order a drink.
When the bartender at Vogel’s Lounge told John Wesley Dornfeld that the East Side establishment was done serving alcohol for the night, the 25-year-old took matters into his own hands, authorities say.
Dornfeld lunged across the bar that night on Feb. 9 and tried to grab a bottle of alcohol, causing the bartender and other patrons to detain him, according to the criminal complaint filed against him Thursday in Ramsey County District Court.
He was subsequently thrown out of the bar when staff noted Dornfeld had a knife in his pocket, the complaint says.
That’s when authorities say the incident escalated.
Wielding a baseball bat, Dornfeld began smashing the windows of the bartender’s 2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser parked outside the establishment, including the vehicle’s front windshield, a back window, three driver’s side windows and a taillight, according to the complaint.
The damage cost more than $10,000 to repair.
Dornfeld declined to make a statement to investigators after his arrest.
He faces one count of first-degree criminal damage to property for the alleged conduct.
Dornfeld’s attorney, Nicole Kettwick, declined to comment on the allegations as she hadn’t been able to review the complaint.
Dornfeld’s criminal record includes mostly traffic violations. He was also convicted of petty misdemeanor drug possession in 2014.
He was expected to make his first court appearance in the case Thursday afternoon.