ST. GEORGE — St. George Police arrested a 60-year-old man, later identified as Eldy Westergard, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Saturday after he allegedly threatened McDonald’s employees with a pair of scissors when they confronted him about the pictures of nude women he had on his table while he was enjoying lunch.
Eldy Westergard, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, booking photo posted Dec. 13, 2014 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s Office
Just before 4 p.m., officers responded to the McDonald’s restaurant located at 798 E. St. George Boulevard after receiving reports of a man threatening employees with a pair of scissors, St. George Police Officer Hector Dominguez wrote in a probable cause statement supporting the arrest.
“According to witnesses, (Westergard) had multiple pictures of nude women on his table while he was eating lunch,” Dominguez said in the statement.
When patrons complained to the restaurant manager about the issue, the manager approached Westergard, who allegedly became upset and disorderly, Dominguez said in the statement. Westergard raised his voice and told the McDonald’s manager and another employee to go outside and fight him.
The McDonald’s employees told Westergard she was not going to fight him, Dominguez said, at which point, Westergard pulled out a pair of scissors and pointed them at the employee and moved them in a forward motion towards her.
Both the employee and the manager said they feared for their safety and that they believed their lives were in danger, Dominguez said in the statement. They were also scared for the safety of the McDonald’s customers inside the restaurant at the time, he said.
When officers first responded to the scene, Westergard fled the building, St. George Police Sgt. Sam Despain said. However, once outside, Westergard did not continue to flee and cooperated with the responding officers.
While Westergard’s behavior did appear quite abnormal, Despain said, he is not believed to have been under the influence of any substances at the time.
“As to why he decided to get so upset and threaten those employees, we just don’t know,” Despain said.
Westergard was arrested and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility. He was charged with one class A misdemeanor for threatening with a dangerous weapon in a fight or quarrel and an infraction for disorderly conduct. His bail is set at $5,000.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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