New Prague man charged with damage to property in Wheatland Township

A 20-year-old man is facing a felony, gross misdemeanor and two misdemeanor charges after police say he got heavily intoxicated, drove to a stranger’s house in Wheeland Township and caused significant damage to property.

Police were dispatched to a farm in rural Wheatland Township, Rice County, after receiving a report that someone was attempting to kick in their front door. Officers arrived on the scene to find quite a mess, with trash cans strewn about and two vehicles with their doors opened up.

They witnessed a man, later identified as Colton Robert Lee Bornholdt, of New Prague, get out of one of the cars. The Statement of Probable Cause states that Bornholdt had no shirt, shorts that were covered in mud, only one shoe, and was bleeding from his hands.

The car which Bornholdt emerged from was not registered to him but to the homeowner, and it appeared to have been rummaged through, with contents on the ground. More items could be found thrown over the front step, in front of a front door which had been broken.

By the horse pasture and barn, there was another vehicle which was still running and had its lights on. It had been driven off the driveway, through a fence and into the pasture, causing significant damage to the fence. It was registered to Bornholdt.

Officers noted that Bornholdt appeared to be heavily intoxicated, and a blood test showed .017 BAC. After giving a series of nonsensical explanations, Bornholdt claimed that he believed that his friend’s truck was stuck in the yard and he was trying to help get it out.

Bornholdt also acknowledged that he had drunk heavily, despite not yet being 21 years old, that he had driven his truck to the property, that he didn’t know who lived at the property and that he had gone through the vehicles of those who lived at the property.

Bornholdt faces a charge of felony damage to property. In addition, he faces a DWI for driving while intoxicated and two misdemeanors for disorderly conduct and underage drinking.