St. Joseph Man Accused of Domestic Assault, Threats

ST. CLOUD -- A St. Joseph man is accused of beating a woman and threatening to kill her and two girls in the home last Wednesday.

According to the criminal complaint, 36-year-old Jonathan Bayer is charged with nine criminal counts including six counts of domestic assault, terroristic threats and malicious punishment of a child.

Stearns County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the home in St. Wendel Township on the evening of January 3rd. The two girls had called 911 and told dispatchers Bayer was beating on the woman and punching her in the face multiple times.

Bayer is also accused of slapping one of the girls and punching her in the shoulder.

Records show Bayer was confronted by the woman after he urinated in the bed after a night of drinking. They argued and the woman left for work.

Bayer became upset and allegedly began yelling and screaming at the girls and had slapped and punched one of them. The woman sent two of Bayer's friends to the house to remove him and sober him up.

Bayer left and eventually fell asleep, but then took a cab and returned to the home where the girls were.

The woman said she arrived home to find Bayer ransacking the house. Bayer then allegedly slammed her head into a refrigerator and began punching the woman in the face 25-30 times.

At some point, the girls say he was fidgeting with a handgun and threatened to shoot them all. Police later found a handgun in another child's bedroom.

Officers arrested Bayer at the scene. He's being held in the Stearns County Jail on four felony charges and five gross misdemeanor charges. He's due in court January 18th.