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

A Los Angeles man was arrested after a bizarre, day-long crime spree in central California that included a pursuit, attempted kidnapping and assault earlier this week.

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

The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Anthony Mehlhaff, approached a pregnant waitress at a restaurant and reached out to touch her stomach before he reportedly 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."

Afterwards, he stole several drinks, assaulted another member of the restaurant waitstaff and sped away in his car towards Yosemite National Park. 

"At 3 pm multiple calls began coming in to the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office Emergency 911 center, said MCSD's statement. "Reports of a possible car crash, kidnapping, assault, stolen vehicles, and other suspicious circumstances all occurring near Fish Camp."

Those calls were made after Yosemite National Park rangers attempted to stop Mehlhaaff on Highway 41, which runs inside of the park's boundaries. He continued to drive however, eventually reaching the Fish Camp area where he crashed his car and stole a bicycle, the statement continued. 

Before riding away, he reportedly took off his shirt and handed it to a person, telling them, "you'll want to keep this, I'm going to be famous."

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

At this point, deputies say that he grabbed a knife and began to threaten the workers. 

"Melhalff made his way out of 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, told the customers to leave or they would be in danger."

Deputies say that Mehlhaff vandalized the inside of the clubhouse before assaulting the store manager and took their keys, attempting to force him to drive him away from the area. The manager was able to run from Mehlhaff, however.

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

"While driving on Hwy 41 Mehlhaff encountered a Tesla and began extreme road rage behavior, tailgating the Tesla while making aggressive hand gestures," the statement said. "Mehlhaff eventually began ramming the Tesla."

Deputies finally arrived to the area, found both of the cars and tried to stop Mehlhaff, who instead fled. He continued to drive until he reached the town of Oakhurst where he crashed. 

After being taken into custody, the suspect was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. While there, he began to assault Mariposa County Sheriff's deputies, the statement said. 

He was booked at Mariposa County Jail and is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. 

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

"This man drove all around our county terrorizing our visitors and community members," said Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese. "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."

The Los Angeles Times reports that Mehlhaff is the front man for LA-based punk band Cancer Christ.