Darren Dwayne Sandberg-Karnes, 32, of Adams was charged on Tuesday in Mower County District Court with felony terroristic threats.

According to the court complaint, deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call at 12:20 p.m. on Monday in the 20 block of Schmitz Street Northeast in Adams. Dispatch advised that the woman who called said Sandberg-Karnes had threatened her child with a knife. Deputies met with the woman, who said she and Sandberg-Karnes were arguing the night before after she told him she no longer wanted to continue their relationship. She told them her child does not like Sandberg-Karnes because of his temper and “mental abuse” and that Sandberg-Karnes blamed the child for their deteriorating relationship.

The complaint states she told Sandberg-Karnes she and the child were moving out, at which point Sandberg-Karnes got upset and blamed the child for the break-up. The child was asleep on their bed next to her and Sandberg-Karnes entered the bedroom holding a steak knife that he had previously used to cut a “heart” into his arm. She told him to take the knife out of the bedroom, but Sandberg-Karnes waved the knife over the child and said, “Let’s take care of this now.” He then threw the knife on the floor and went to sleep.

Deputies spoke to Sandberg-Karnes, who said they had been arguing about breaking up and that the child did not like him, the complaint said. He said he had been carrying the knife around all evening and had been using it to cut his arm. He denied threatening anyone with the knife and said he put it into the kitchen when the woman told him to do so. He initially denied having the knife in the bedroom, but then told deputies he was not sure if he had the knife in the bedroom.

The deputies took the steak knife from the kitchen into evidence. They also saw flowers in the kitchen sink, which the woman said Sandberg-Karnes gave her that morning because he was “sorry” and asked, “Can’t we just forget about this?”

A review of Sandberg-Karnes criminal history shows prior conviction for assault and disorderly conduct.

Sandberg-Karnes will appear in court again on Oct. 8.