Police: Stalker Repeatedly Poured Deer Urine on Woman’s Vehicle

Hopkins police arrested a Bloomington man who appears to have stalked a woman and repeatedly poured deer urine on her vehicle, according to court documents released Friday.

Officers went to the 100 block of 11th Avenue South at 10:31 p.m. Thursday after Rebecca Jo Schmidtbauer reported she saw someone pouring liquid on her vehicle, Police Sgt. Michael Glassberg wrote in the charging documents.

The woman had reported seeing a man pouring a liquid on her vehicle at 4 a.m. that same day and in the early hours of the previous day.

After police arrived, they saw a man running through a nearby park, cup in hand. Officers followed him and saw him throw away the cup.

After officers detained him, they identified him as 46-year-old Richard Matson—whom Schmidtbauer said she knew from when they played in bands together. When police asked why he had damaged Schmidtbauer’s vehicle, he told them, “I can’t answer that right now.”

One of the responding officers reported that it appeared deer urine had been poured on the vehicle’s windshield, door handles and front left brake. Another officer identified damage to two other brakes.

Schmidtbauer said she’d noticed a urine smell and that her door handles were wet but hadn’t realized her vehicle was being tampered with. When she drove to work Wednesday, she noticed her vehicle’s brakes were operating oddly and took it in to a mechanic—who charged her $230 to remove an unknown substance.

Matson has been charged with:

• Stalking, a gross misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $3,000 fine;
• Fourth-degree criminal damage to property, a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine and
• Disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

He was released from jail Friday on $3,000 bond.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free daily newsletter