Central California’s Monarch Butterfly County is home to the lead singer of a Los Angeles-based shock rock band who turned himself into a one-man source of terror for both locals and tourists last week, according to officials in the Golden State.
Anthony Mehlhaff, who is 40 years old, is the lead singer of the band Cancer Christ. Their music is hardcore punk, thrash metal, or speed metal, depending on who you ask.
Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office records show that the defendant is now being charged with a long list of crimes, such as kidnapping, reckless driving on a highway, vehicle theft, burglary, robbery, theft, battery, fighting arrest, and vandalism.
The crime spree is said to have started at a restaurant on California State Route 120 on August 21. A press statement from the sheriff’s office says that Mehlhaff touched a pregnant server on the stomach and told her, “The spirits led me to you, and your baby belongs to me. When is your break? I will be waiting for you.”
The guy who didn’t belong left the restaurant around 1:45 p.m., hitting a worker on his way out and stealing “several drinks,” according to the sheriff’s office. He is then said to have gotten into his car and driven toward Yosemite National Park.
The sheriff’s office said that by 3 p.m. that day, the 911 dispatch center for the sparsely populated county was busy with calls about possible emergencies, such as “a possible car chase,” a kidnapping attempt, another assault, multiple stolen vehicles, and other “suspicious circumstances.”
There are no cities in Mariposa County. Instead, there are a few small to very small census-designated places, or villages.
Most of those 911 calls came from Fish Camp, which has a population of only about 40 people, though that number could go up if people are home for the holidays. The area was once a logging town, but now it’s mostly a tourist spot with a hospitality business, and it’s the main southern entrance to Yosemite.
Park guards are said to have tried to stop Mehlhaff on California State Route 41 as he made his way into their area but failed.
Instead, the singer of hits like “God Made Me Do It” is said to have crashed his car at Fish Camp and then stolen a bike.
The sheriff’s office says Mehlhaff told a witness, “You’ll want to keep this, I’m going to be famous,” as he took off his shirt and gave it to them. He then rode off on the stolen bike.
He didn’t go very far.
Next, Mehlhaff is said to have used a back door to get into the kitchen of Fish Camp’s huge, fancy hotel, Tenaya Lodge. There, he supposedly put his hat and other personal items in a refrigerator. He is said to have then taken a kitchen knife and started frightening the workers.
Cancer Christ’s lead singer reportedly took off even more items, such as his pants, wallet, and car keys, after leaving the kitchen and going to a “creek area” near the hotel’s clubhouse.
Mehlhaff is said to have gone into the clubhouse, a public area where small snacks are sold, wearing only gray boxer underwear and told customers to leave for their own safety before starting to damage things.
The defendant reportedly beat up and tried to kidnap the store manager after that rite of wreckage, according to the sheriff’s office. Mehlhaff is said to have stolen their Kia Optima after grabbing their car keys. The shop manager was able to get away without being hurt.
The dedicated criminal behavior kept going strong as Mehlhaff drove south on Highway 41 and into nearby Madera County, passing through the census-designated place of Oakhurst. There, he “ran into a Tesla and started acting very angry on the road,” according to the sheriff’s office.
According to the sheriff’s office and statements from the California Highway Patrol reported by Visalia-based Fox affiliate KMPH, he after driving slowly on the shoulder and then being passed, followed the electric car too close, made “aggressive hand gestures” at the other driver, and hit them several times.
Authorities say that Mehlhaff was finally caught by Mariposa County sheriff’s officers during the Tesla incident. There was a short chase that followed.
It’s not clear if he crashed on his own or because of help from police, but he did fall. That which began in Mariposa County came to an end just south of Oakhurst. The stolen Optima crashed into a fence in a wooded area on Mattie Fhy Road in Coarsegold. Mehlhaff was then arrested, though not without some trouble.
The defendant is accused of attacking sheriff’s officers while getting medical clearance at a nearby hospital. The deputies then took the defendant to jail.
“This man drove all over our county scaring tourists and people who live here,” Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said in a statement. “I’m so thankful that no one was seriously hurt. This man’s behavior was crazy and dangerous.”
This is only a small part of what we see most of the time. I’m proud of the work our staff has done and the partnerships they have formed that allow us to catch criminals who keep hurting our neighborhoods.
The suspect is being held on $100,000 bail right now.
Law&Crime asked the sheriff’s office and state troopers for more information about this story, but as of the time of release, they had not responded.
Cancer Christ, Mehlhaff’s band, put out their new record “God is Violence” on Seeing Red Records in January. After the arrest, the record company said on Instagram over the weekend that they were “finally shipping” a few of the band’s box sets.
The now-accused spree killer told New Noise Magazine in February, “The world is violent; everyone is violent, but we don’t have to be that way.” We can all love each other, let off steam at shows, and try to enjoy life. It’s not easy, especially in the last three years. But we do believe in it in a way. “Spread love.”