Iron River man faces charges in driveway incident caught on trail camera
Apr. 3—BRULE — An Iron River man accused of walking on a driveway in the town of Brule holding an ax and knife, an incident which was captured by trail cameras on the property, made his initial appearance in Douglas County Circuit Court Monday, April 1.
Mikhail Vayn Petersen, 22, is facing a felony count of bail jumping, misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct with the use of a dangerous weapon and an ordinance violation for trespass to land.
A $2,000 bond was set for Petersen with the condition that he have no contact with the victim or their Brule address. He was ordered to have no use or possession of alcohol, dangerous weapons and controlled substances or drug-related paraphernalia. Petersen remained in custody at the Douglas County Jail Tuesday, April 2.
Deputies with the sheriff's office were dispatched to a Brule residence at 10:42 p.m. Friday, March 29, for a report of a person walking down the driveway with an ax and knife, according to the criminal complaint. No one was located on the property, but the owner told deputies an image from the trail camera showed the person running down the driveway back toward the road.
Deputy Brian Witt with the sheriff's office reportedly observed foot impressions and followed them to a nearby residence. When he knocked on the door, Petersen answered wearing clothing similar to that worn by the man in the trail camera footage. Petersen said he was staying at the residence and denied that he was the person seen in the footage walking down the driveway, the complaint said.
Witt took photos of the foot impressions on the driveway and returned to talk with Petersen. The Iron River man initially said he only had Crocs, but later showed Witt his boots, the complaint said. The foot impression of the boot reportedly matched those seen in the driveway. Petersen then admitted to walking on the driveway, saying he thought it was a cemetery, the complaint said. He denied carrying a knife or ax, and reportedly said he turned and left when he saw the house.
According to Witt's report, he checked the victim's yard in the daylight, but could not see any foot impressions and did not find where Petersen had thrown the knife and ax.
At the time of the incident, Petersen was out on bail in an open Jackson County case charging multiple violent felonies and misdemeanors. The cash bail on that case was set at $5,000, according to online court records. A jury trial is set for Sept. 10 in Jackson County with a pre-trial hearing Aug. 20.
Petersen's next court appearance in Douglas County was set for Wednesday, April 10. If convicted, the Douglas County counts carry a combined maximum penalty of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $22,000.
