On April 18, 2026, Lino Lakes Police responded to a residence on Hawthorn Road in Lino Lakes, Anoka County, on a report of a domestic disturbance. The caller, T. M., had begun the call to 911, but his adult son, Defendant Benjamin William Mattke ([DOB REDACTED]), then took the phone and told the dispatcher that he (Defendant) had been making threats and had broken a glass, and that T. M. Was drunk. Dispatch noted that Defendant sounded intoxicated and rambled at length about the last time he had been arrested.
At the scene, police spoke with T. M. And his wife, C. M. T. M. Reported that Defendant's life had not been going well, and that Defendant was upset about his general situation. Defendant then told T. M. That if T. M. Ever sold a family cabin which Defendant was due to inherit, Defendant would murder T. M. This was surprising to T. M. And appeared to come out of nowhere. T. M. Advised that he was concerned that Defendant may be schizophrenic and has not been taking his prescribed medication. T. M. Then showed officers a puncture in the residence wall from approximately 10 minutes earlier, where Defendant had punched it.
This is what prompted T. M. To call 911. He clarified that Defendant did not rip the phone from his hand; instead Defendant asked to speak with dispatch, and T. M. Allowed it. T. M. Stated that right before Defendant had punched the wall, he repeated his threat to T. M., elaborating that he would use T. M.'s rifle to murder him if he sold the cabin. This was the third time in 24 hours that Defendant had made this threat. This, combined with Defendant's agitated mental state, caused T. M. To fear for his safety.
T. M. Owns a number of firearms that Defendant could access, but did not feel he was in immediate danger of death. C. M. Corroborated T. M.'s version of events, and stated that Defendant had gotten angry when the Timberwolves lost a game, and Defendant had punched a hole in his television before also hitting the wall. He also grabbed T. M.'s drinking glass and threw it across the room, shattering it. She also reported unusual behavior by Defendant, such as him putting a large number of dishes into a garbage bag and throwing it outside, breaking many of them.
Police also spoke with Defendant, who was visibly under the influence and had trouble remaining on topic. He had an open cut on his hand from punching the wall, which was treated. He agreed that there had been an argument over the cabin, but he denied threatening T. M., and stated that he didn't remember many details about the argument. His explanations for his behaviors did not make sense, such as stating that he punched the wall "in order to test the integrity of the Ukrainian contractor who did all of the work downstairs". He was then taken into custody.
It should be noted that Defendant is presently on a stay of adjudication for disorderly conduct in 02-CR-25- 4863, from a similar altercation.
