Cancer Christ frontman Anthony Mehlhaff arrested after wild Yosemite rampage

Anthony Mehlhaff, the frontman of Cancer Christ, has recently made headlines and the Los Angeles local news after the 40-year-old musician was apprehended after a string of perplexing incidents near Yosemite National Park. Mehlhaff stands accused of a myriad of charges including vandalism, vehicle theft, reckless driving, kidnapping, theft, first-degree burglary, robbery, obstructing an officer, and battery.

According to reports, the ordeal started at a restaurant in the Buck Meadows area, where Mehlhaff purportedly approached a pregnant waitress and made unsettling remarks, commenting on her unborn child, saying "The spirits led me to you and your baby belongs to me," then asked when her break was, and that he would be "waiting" for her. The situation escalated as Mehlhaff proceeded to abscond with beverages and assault a staff member before fleeing towards Yosemite National Park in a vehicle.

Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese explained:

Mehlhaff then stole several drinks, assaulted another employee of the restaurant and sped off in his vehicle towards Yosemite National Park.

After that, a sequence of events unfolded rather dramatically, involving Mehlhaff undressing, attempting a carjacking, and run-ins with law enforcement.

Briese continued:

This man drove all around our county terrorizing our visitors and community members. I am extremely happy that no one was seriously injured. This man's behavior was erratic and dangerous.

As of Friday, August 23rd, Mehlhaff was being detained on $100,000 bail. Reports from the LA Times indicate that a recorded message on his voicemail directed law enforcement and mental health professionals to stop trying to contact him, telling them to "fuck off."

Cancer Christ, known for their parody of Christianity in hardcore music, was set to open for GWAR during a series of September shows. However, they were replaced on the lineup, possibly due to Mehlhaff's recent behavior after alarming fans with a number of social media posts from Mehlhaff. 

One of the posts on Cancer Christ's Instagram featured a photo of a tattoo reading "FUCK GWAR," apparently obtained by Mehlhaff. 

This led to a Reddit post titled "What's happening with the lead singer of Cancer Christ," with a lot of GWAR fans in the comments worried about Mehlhaff's mental health, given his recent online activity.

Earlier this year, Cancer Christ guitarist Tommy Meehan joined GWAR's touring roster as Grodius Maximus, filling in after Brent Purgason (aka Pustulus Maximus) left the band towards the end of last year. Aside from the September gigs, GWAR is set to kick off their fall "Stoned Age" tour, featuring support from Dark Funeral, Squid Pisser, and Cancer Bats. 

See GWAR on tour 

The Mariposa County Sheriff's office shared more details:

It all started Wednesday afternoon around 1:45pm in the Buck Meadows area of Mariposa County on Hwy 120. Anthony Mehlhaff 40 years old from Los Angeles, CA walked up to a pregnant waitress in a local restaurant. He reached out and touched her stomach and reportedly said "the spirits led me to you and your baby belongs to me, and what time is your break because I will be waiting for you."

Mehlhaff then stole several drinks, assaulted another employee of the restaurant and sped off in his vehicle towards Yosemite National Park. At 3pm multiple calls began coming in to the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office Emergency 911 center. Reports of a possible car chase, kidnapping, assault, stolen vehicles, and other suspicious circumstances all occurring near Fish Camp.

Yosemite National Park rangers attempted to stop Mehlhaff on Hwy 41 inside the Yosemite National Park boundaries. Mehlhaff continued to the Fish Camp area where he crashed his vehicle and stole a bicycle, but not before he reportedly took off his shirt handed it to a bystander and said "you'll want to keep this, I'm going to be famous".

Mehlhaff then entered the Tenaya Lodge kitchen through a back door, placed his hat and other items inside a refrigerator, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began threatening workers.

Mehlhaff made his way out of the lodge kitchen and walked to a creek area near the Tenaya Lodge Clubhouse, where he removed his pants, wallet and car keys. He then entered the Clubhouse in only his underwear, told the customers to leave or they would be in danger. Mehlhaff then began vandalizing the Clubhouse. He then took the store managers car keys and attempted to kidnap the store manager while assaulting him and attempting to force him to drive Mehlhaff out of the area. The store manager was able to get out of Mehlhaff's grasp.

Mehlhaff stole the store manager's vehicle and continued driving on Hwy 41 towards Oakhurst. While driving on Hwy 41 Mehlhaff encountered a Tesla and began extreme road rage behavior, tailgating the Tesla while making aggressive hand gestures. Mehlhaff eventually began ramming the Tesla. Mariposa County Sheriff's Deputies in the area located both vehicles and attempted to stop Mehlhaff.

Mehlhaff eventually crashed the stolen vehicle on Hwy 41 just outside of the town of Oakhurst. Mehlhaff was taken into custody. While being medically cleared at a local hospital, Mehlhaff began assaulting Mariposa County Sheriff's Deputies. He was eventually booked in to the Mariposa County Jail and is being held on $100,000 bail.

While searching Mehlhaff's vehicle registered to him, an Enola Gay smoke grenade was located inside the door panel. The Merced Bomb Squad was called in to handle the device.

The Mariposa County Sheriff's Office would like to thank Yosemite National Park Service, Oakhurst California Highway Patrol, the Merced Bomb Squad and the Madera County Sheriff's Office for their assistance with this case.

"This man drove all around our county terrorizing our visitors and community members. I am extremely happy that no one was seriously injured, this man's behavior was erratic and dangerous. This is just a glimpse of what we encounter at any given time. I am proud of the work done by our staff and partnerships built that give us the ability to apprehend criminals who continue to harm our communities." – Sheriff Jeremy Briese.

***Just a Friendly Reminder*** the Sheriff's office does not determine bail amounts. They are set by the Judicial Council of California."