Man accused of swearing, drinking, peeing at "Rango" screening
Ed Zagorski and Andy Steinke, Capital Newspapers
Nothing says "family afternoon at the movies" like booze, cursing and public urination.
A 49-year-old Minnesota man was charged with vandalism and disorderly conduct after a Saturday incident that occurred during a matinee screening of the children's film "Rango" at Desert Star Cinema in Lake Delton.
Timothy W. Elvester allegedly drank alcohol, used profane language and urinated inside the theater. According to a criminal complaint, the showing of the movie was stopped so that he could be taken into custody.
Elvester, of Aitkin, Minn., made his initial court appearance Monday via a video conference link from the Sauk County jail, where he remained on a $100 cash bond.
According to the complaint, a Lake Delton police officer was called at 2:25 p.m. to handle a man who was refusing to leave and was causing problems.
Officer Michael Horkheimer met with the theater manager, who said a patron was "very intoxicated" and drinking liquor from a pint bottle.
The manager told Horkheimer he had asked the man to leave and to stop drinking, but the man refused to leave and would stop drinking only while they were watching him.
The manager said he had received several complaints about the man using profanity during the movie, adding that the man continued to curse when told to leave.
Horkheimer left the theater to call for assistance, and when officer Troy Spencer arrived, the staff told police Elvester had urinated in the theater and had fallen on the stairs.
The officers found the man lying face-down on the stairs with a cut on his head.
The movie was stopped so officers could pull the man from the theater, which was about 90 percent full.
Theater staff and parents reported that when Horkheimer left the theater to call for help, the man fell while trying to stand up, and also urinated on the floor and the two seats in front of him.
If Horkheimer hadn't asked two children seated in front of Elvester to move earlier in his contact with Elvester, they likely would have been urinated on, he noted in his report.
Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett said at the initial appearance that Elvester was transient. She also said he caused about $4,000 in damage. Desert Star lost $1,280 in the form of 128 refunds and free passes it had to give to moviegoers because of Elvester's actions.
Sauk County Circuit Judge Patrick Taggart said the allegation of damage is "serious" and set Elvester's cash bond at $100.
Elvester faces criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct charges, both misdemeanors. If convicted, he faces a year in jail or an $11,000 fine or both.
Elvester will be back in court for a pre-trial conference March 14.
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