A Waterloo man faces multiple charges following an unexplained 12-hour crime spree in the city. Authorities are trying to figure out why 43-year-old Arthur Schmelzer damaged apartments, a hospital building, and attacked a sheriff’s deputy.
The alleged series of incidents began early Tuesday morning when police say Schmelzer set fire to a rug in his apartment, then struck his wife’s head with a hammer. Schmelzer is accused of using the hammer to break-out windows at neighboring apartments and at Covenant Medical Center’s Professional Building, which is nearby.
Police say 21 windows were damaged at the hospital building and two vehicles parked outside had smashed windshields. Authorities say Schmelzer then walked into the hospital and threatened workers and later lunged at a Black Hawk County sheriff’s deputy while a nurse was treating Schmelzer for minor injuries.
Schmelzer was eventually taken to jail on a variety of charges, including arson, domestic assault, and assault on a peace officer.
His bond is set at $100,000.