Defendant allegedly had loaded shotgun, pointed at own chin

Published 10:01 am Wednesday, June 6, 2012

An Austin man who allegedly pointed a loaded shotgun at his chin while surrounded by police was charged Tuesday in Mower County Court.

Joshua Mark Hatleli, 26, of Austin, faces felony charges for terroristic threats and fleeing police in a vehicle, two gross misdemeanor charges for domestic assault and another gross misdemeanor for possession of firearms by user of a controlled substance.

Police received a call from the alleged victims, who said Hatleli had damaged a door earlier, returned to the home and made threatening remarks while he had a shotgun, according to the court complaint. One victim reportedly saw Hatleli remove the gun from its case and leave in his car. According to the complaint, Hatleli told one of the victims over the phone: “This is not the end of it. I will … get every single one of you and I will be back.”

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Hatleli also allegedly said he was going to kill a victim’s husband: “He is done. I’m coming for him, too, with six rounds.”

The victims told police that Hatleli was going to Marcusen Park and said he would never be seen by any of them again. Police later found Hatleli driving and followed him to Marcusen Park with their emergency lights on.

According to the complaint, Hatleli sat in the front seat with a shotgun, chambered a shell and pointed the gun to his chin. After 12-minutes of negotiating, officers were able to convince Hatleli to surrender. The shotgun was loaded with six rifled slugs — one in the chamber. Hatleli admitted to police he was stressed out and smoked cocaine the previous night, according to the complaint.

Hatleli’s next court appearance is set for June 14. He is being held in the Mower County jail on $50,000.