A verbal dispute escalated to a physical assault in the presence of witnesses and the jailing of the perpetrator Sunday afternoon.

Monday, October 02, 2000

A verbal dispute escalated to a physical assault in the presence of witnesses and the jailing of the perpetrator Sunday afternoon.

Wade Joseph Novak, 35, of 800 Sixth Ave. SE, was charged with gross misdemeanor assault, resisting arresting, assaulting a police officer and criminal damage to property.

He is being held in the Mower County Jail pending a court appearance.

The incident began at 5:10 p.m. Sunday at Novak’s southeast Austin residence, according to a police report, when neighbors called to report the disturbance.

Novak was seen on his front lawn arguing with the victim, a 38-year-old Austin woman, and going through her purse. As the woman attempted to walk away from Novak, he struck her in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground.

When police arrived, Novak attempted to leave on his motorcycle, but was sprayed with Mace and subdued.

When he was placed in a squad car, he kicked out a rear passenger window. He was placed in another squad car and taken to the Law Enforcement Center.

The assault victim was taken to Austin Medical Center’s emergency room for observation.

Drunk driving charges lodged

Austin Police Department officers saw two men drinking beer in the Downtown Plaza parking lot Sunday morning.

Police warned the men it was against the law to consume beer from an open container in public and the men agreed to stop.

Later, one of them was observed driving erratically and was stopped. Still later, his companion was observed driving erratically and stopped.

Both are in jail on drunk driving charges today.

Police observed the pair drinking in public at 12:50 a.m. Sunday and a warning was given not to drive intoxicated.

A few minutes later, another Austin officer stopped the same pickup truck. The driver, Jose Luis Tapia Cabrerra, 27, of Apple Valley, failed field sobriety tests and was taken into custody.

His passenger, Jose Mario Ariza of Kissimmee, Fla., told police, they could park the pickup truck and he would contact a friend to drive him home.

About an hour later, according to the police report, another officer observed the same pickup truck being driven erratically near the Twin Towers apartment complex, stopped it and arrested the driver for drunk driving and Ariza was jailed with his friend, Cabrerra, for the second drunk driving incident in the same vehicle.

Cabrerra also faces drug charges after a vial containing a substance that tested as cocaine was found on his person.

Garage fire extinguished

Gregory A. Thorsheim of 703 11th St. NW was the victim of a garage fire Friday night.

Austin Police Department officers were sent to the Thorsheim residence. When they arrived, they discovered a crowd of 20 people watching flames coming from a garage.

The Austin Fire Department then arrived and extinguished the blaze.

The fire is believed to have started in a small wood pile near a rear corner of the garage, where passers-by frequently toss cigarette butts.

No estimate of the victim’s loss was available.

The alarm was received at 10:36 p.m. Friday.