Second pleads not guilty to smashing car with chain

The second of two men who allegedly smashed a car with a chain made his plea in Mower County Court Thursday.

Christopher J. Heimsness, 38, of Rochester, pleaded not guilty to felony first-degree intentional property damage. The other allegedly involved, Preston Ray Bain, 21, of Waseca, pleaded not guilty last month.

According to the court complaint, the victim immediately drove his 98 Chevy Camaro to the Law Enforcement Center in Austin after two men blocked the road and one smashed his windshield with a chain connected to a hook. The victim told officers both men were sitting on a trailer in the 1800 block of Fourth St. NE and drinking beer before they blocked his path and smashed his car. An officer went with the victim to find the suspects and arrested Bain and Heimsness. Bain gave a preliminary breath test of .178, and Heimsness registered .115.

Though the victim wasn’t hurt, his car sustained more than $4,000 worth of damage to the windshield and hood, according to the complaint.

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