Man Charged in Paynesville Township Standoff

(KNSI) — The suspect accused of shooting at officers during a standoff in Paynesville Township Saturday has been charged.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman told police she was putting together a puzzle the night before when Nicholas Kaufenberg came into her bedroom angry, called her names, and knocked over a dresser. She tried calming him down and told him to go get more alcohol. When he left, she locked the bathroom door and put a dresser in front of the bedroom door to block it as it did not have a lock. Around 1:45 a.m., he sent her a text message saying his life would be better without her in it, which she took to mean he was going to possibly kill her. She went to bed but slept in a different spot because she was afraid he would shoot her through the door if she slept in her normal spot. Later that morning he was yelling and pounding on the bedroom door trying to get in, and it riled up their dogs. As she went to let them out, Kaufenberg grabbed her, pushed her up against a wall, and started yelling and calling her names. She finally had enough and grabbed his sweatshirt, throwing him to the ground. She ran out and called police.

Court documents say officers went to the house to arrest Kaufenberg, but he refused to come outside and threatened the deputies if they came inside. While they were talking, Kaufenberg said the woman was lying and called her crazy. He also said he had several guns and was willing to use them.

The Benton-Stearns SWAT team was called out just before 2:00 p.m., and when they arrived, they tried to convince the man to surrender. After more than five hours of back and forth and turning off the power to the house, Kaufenberg is accused of becoming more agitated. SWAT members inside special vehicles deployed gas into the home to get him to come out, while also using the vehicle to gain entry to the home. That’s when court papers say officers saw muzzle flashes and heard what they thought to be gunshots. As they retreated, a deputy inside the vehicle said he had been hit in the face. Another said he saw a muzzle flash and felt something hit him in the safety glasses, which pushed them into his nose. He said he also heard “projectiles going over his head.” Upon further inspection, a pellet sized divot was found in the deputy’s glasses.

The criminal complaint says no officers ever returned fire and Kaufenberg came out of the house without further incident.

A search warrant of the house allegedly turned up several loaded guns including a rifle and a single shot shotgun, a Mossberg 12 gauge pump shotgun propped against the doorway outside of the bedroom where the shots came from. Investigators said they “noticed the firearm was left ready to fire and contained two live six shot rounds. As Investigators made the firearm safe, they noticed the overwhelming odor of gun powder indicating the firearm was recently used. Investigators also located BBs consistent with a shotgun load, wad shot cup, and three empty shotgun shells in the bedroom of the residence. There was also damage to the wall and blinds consistent with a shotgun blast.”

Officers said there were also pellet sized indentations in the windshield of one vehicle that were not there before.

While on the way to jail, the criminal complaint says Kaufenberg told deputies he was just shooting and not shooting at police. He said police broke into his house, which prompted him to shoot.

Kaufenberg is charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic assault and six counts of first degree assault – use of deadly force against a police officer.

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