Austin Daily Herald

An Austin man may face felony assault charges after allegedly chasing and attacking a group of teenagers and an 18-year-old with a knife.

According to police, Mayai Cobai, 23, was on the porch of someone else’s home on the 1000 block of First Avenue SW when he refused to let the group leave the porch. One teen tried to get on his own bike and leave, but Cobai reportedly would not allow it.

When the group broke free from the porch, Cobai allegedly chased them for two to three minutes with a lock-blade folding knife in hand, according to police. The chase, which left the residence and continued through nearby alleys, ended in a fight, police say. Cobai lost hold of the knife, which one of the teens allegedly picked up.

According to police, when officers arrived to arrest him, Cobai screamed, kicked and pushed at them, and tried to grab their weapons. Officers then used mace, and Cobai stopped attacking.

Cobai was taken to the Mower County jail, where he is held for second-degree assault.

Cobai was convicted of felony fourth-degree assualt of a peace officer in April after a Star Liquor employee said Cobai stole a $13 bottle of brandy and fled. Cobai tried to punch an officer, fought with others and spit at the squad car before being placed in a spit hood and arrested in January 2012. Cobai was also convicted of terroristic threats last June when he threatened his father and an officer with a knife.

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