FORT DODGE – A Fort Dodge man crashed into a building and, armed with a knife, confronted people inside before cops finally fought and subdued him.
At approximately 1:55 PM Thursday afternoon, the Webster County Telecommunications Center received a report of a vehicle that had driven through a garage door at Northern Lights Distributing, 2949 8th Avenue South. Information provided indicated that after crashing into the building, a male entered an office space and interacted with employees with a knife on his person. It was later determined that the male did not directly display it to any of the employees. After a brief interaction, the male got back into his vehicle and exited the building, again driving through the garage door.
As officers were responding to the area, a vehicle matching the description was located by officers near the intersection of 8th Avenue South and South 25th Street. At that point an officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, which refused to stop. The vehicle continued to elude officers, before the male fled his vehicle on foot and entered an apartment complex at 1127 4th Avenue North.
While on scene officers were notified which apartment the male had entered, again with a knife on his person. Officers were able to contact the male inside of that apartment where he was taken into custody without incident. The knife was also recovered.
The male in this incident was identified as Nicholas Ertl (32) of Fort Dodge. As a result of the investigation thus far, Mr. Ertl has been charged with the following:
*Burglary in the First Degree, two counts (B Felony)
*Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree (D Felony)
*Eluding (D Felony)
The following charges were also filed on Mr. Ertl from an unrelated investigation:
*Possession with Intent to Deliver Schedule II Controlled Substance (C Felony)
*Possession with Intent to Deliver Schedule III Controlled Substance (C Felony)
As with all cases, Mr. Ertl is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. He is being held in the Webster County Jail where he will make his initial appearance in Webster County Magistrate Court tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M.
At this point in the investigation it is unclear why Mr. Ertl initially selected the Northern Lights Distributing facility, or the apartment complex. The Fort Dodge Police Department is continuing to investigate this incident and encourage anyone with information to contact law enforcement. There were no injuries reported. The Fort Dodge Police Department was assisted by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office.
