On May 31, 2026, at approximately 12:52 a.m., deputies from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched in response to a panic alarm triggered at a VFW located in Monticello. Upon their arrival at the scene, Deputy Pagel made contact with an employee of the establishment who reported a disturbance. The employee indicated that two individuals, later identified by law enforcement as Joseph Jacob Wayne Lehnherr and Johnnie Ray Mulder, had been causing ongoing issues and harassing other patrons inside the bar.

Deputies approached the two men to investigate the situation. While Deputy Pagel was speaking with Lehnherr, he abruptly ran away from the officer. During his attempt to flee across the parking lot, Lehnherr reportedly lost his footing and fell to the ground. As Deputy Pagel moved in to apprehend him while he was getting back up, Lehnherr allegedly used his open right hand to strike the deputy on the left side of her face. The impact was forceful enough to knock the deputy’s glasses askew. Following the strike, Lehnherr resumed his flight and attempted to conceal himself in nearby bushes. Deputies swiftly located his hiding spot and successfully detained him.

Simultaneously, other deputies questioned Mulder about his involvement in the bar disturbance. The complaint notes that Mulder became highly agitated and began yelling at the responding officers. When deputies informed Mulder that he was not free to leave, his behavior reportedly escalated into belligerence. After being advised that he was under arrest, Mulder allegedly began physically resisting by tensing his arms and pushing back as deputies attempted to place him in handcuffs. During the struggle, Mulder reportedly attempted to headbutt Deputy Smith twice. On a third attempt, Mulder’s head allegedly struck the left side of Deputy Smith’s face. Throughout the altercation, Mulder repeatedly threatened the deputy, explicitly stating that he was going to “f*** [Deputy Smith] up.” Deputies eventually secured Mulder and transported him to the Wright County Jail.

Following the arrests, Deputy Pagel conducted further investigation inside the VFW, which included speaking with witnesses and reviewing interior surveillance footage. The investigation revealed that Lehnherr and Mulder had initially been arguing and shoving each other at the bar. When an employee attempted to intervene and de-escalate the situation, Mulder allegedly grabbed the employee by the shirt collar and pulled them to the ground. As the employee attempted to hold Mulder down, Lehnherr allegedly approached from behind and grabbed the employee. Several other bar patrons ultimately stepped in to separate the parties before law enforcement arrived.

A review of criminal records indicated that Lehnherr has two prior convictions for qualified domestic violence-related offenses within the past three years. These include a gross misdemeanor domestic assault in December 2024 and a felony third-degree assault in October 2023, which factor into the severity of the current charges.

Bail was set at an unspecified amount by Judge John Bowen.