Wales man accused of threatening boys with rifle after noticing his handgun missing from his closet

WAUKESHA COUNTY -- A Wales man is facing misdemeanor charges -- accused of threatening a group of boys with a rifle after noticing his handgun was missing from his closet.

38-year-old Patrick Mikolajczak of Wales faces two misdemeanor charges -- pointing a firearm at another and disorderly conduct, use of a dangerous weapon.

Patrick Mikolajczak



According to a criminal complaint, Waukesha County Sheriff's deputies on January 7th were dispatched to Welsh Road near Wales Road for a report of a man with a gun. When deputies approached, several juveniles ran toward them, including the person who called authorities. They stated they were at a home in the area when an individual inside, identified as "Patrick" came down the hall from his bedroom with a firearm he was trying to load. They said Patrick was intoxicated.

Deputies spoke with Mikolajczak, and noted an extremely strong odor of intoxicants, glassy and bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. He was taken to the hospital where he agreed to offer a statement to authorities.

The complaint says Mikolajczak told them he had discovered that his .50 caliber handgun was missing from the top shelf of his closet, and he "knew the weapon had been taken." He said he "became angry" and grabbed his rifle and headed to the living room, where he said he confronted children who were staying overnight. Mikolajczak said he swung the weapon around and yelled at them "because he wanted to scare them," and "he wanted them to tell him where his handgun was." He said there was a magazine in the rifle, but no round chambered.

Investigators spoke with a witness, who said her nine-year-old son woke her up and said Mikolajczak was pointing a gun at them. She said she saw Mikolajczak in the living room holding a rifle, pointed at kids who were in the living room.

A second witness told investigators she yelled at Mikolajczak to put the gun down, which he eventually did. This witness told investigators Mikolajczak made a comment to the kids that the gun would "blow their faces off."

Mikolajczak made his initial appearance in court in this case on Wednesday, January 11th.

He has pleaded not guilty.