Man who sparked standoff charged with felonies

A 24-year-old man accused of sparking a standoff at his Saukville home last week after trying to stab a woman over an argument about soda faces felony charges in Ozaukee County Circuit Court.

Corey J. McDonald is charged with two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with the use of a dangerous weapon and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct with a dangerous weapon.

During a Sept. 30 court hearing, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Steve Cain set bail for McDonald at $25,000. District Attorney Benjamin Lindsay requested bail be set at $75,000.

According to a criminal complaint, Saukville police officers were called to a house in the 600 block of South Main Street at 3:19 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, by a woman who said McDonald had tried to stab her and was in the basement of the house.  

The woman and a man were outside of the house but reported that a girl was still inside. Officers told her to climb out of a bedroom window, which she did.

Saukville Police Chief Robert Meyer said last week that officers tried unsuccessfully to contact McDonald, then called in the Ozaukee County Special Response Team, which showed up with armored vehicles and tactical weapons. McDonald was arrested at 6:45 p.m.

“He came out and was arrested without incident,” Meyer said. “No one was injured.”

The next day, the woman told authorities that she was sitting on a couch in the living room and the girl was sitting in a chair next to her when McDonald came up from the basement and retrieved a large amount of soda from the kitchen, which prompted the woman to make a comment about how much soda he drank, the complaint states.

McDonald went back to the basement and began yelling that he no longer wanted the woman to live at the house. Both the woman and the girl said they heard him yell, “I’m going to cut your head off” and “I’m going to gut you,” according to the complaint.

McDonald then came up from the basement, grabbed the largest knife from a knife block on the kitchen counter and approached the woman, who was still sitting on the couch. The woman said McDonald grabbed her by the wrist, then thrust the knife toward her chest, the complaint states.

The woman flung herself backward to avoid the knife while the girl stood up and forced herself in between the woman and McDonald, then pushed him away, according to the complaint.

McDonald put the knife back in the block and went downstairs.

The man was present during the incident and told the woman to call police, the complaint states.

Meyer said last week said the man is McDonald’s father. He did not know if or how the woman is related to McDonald.

The standoff forced authorities to close a stretch of South Main Street from East Green Bay Avenue south to Cedar Sauk Road for several hours.

First-degree recklessly endangering safety is punishable by a maximum 7-1/2 years in prison and five years of extended supervision, but if the crime is committed with a dangerous weapon, the prison term can be increased by as many as five years.