Lang
1/2/20
A former Coralville restaurant owner faces charges that he threatened to shoot his estranged wife.
Coralville Police say 51-year-old Andrew Knudsen was at Mellow Mushroom around 7:30 Wednesday night when he showed his wife a video of a person shooting two other people. He then allegedly told her that he had purchased a pistol the previous day, and that he was going to kill her and her boyfriend.
Police say Knudsen and his wife became involved in an argument at his Auburn Hills Drive Road residence over the earlier incident just before midnight. She fled to a neighbor’s house to seek help, but Knudsen allegedly followed her and threw her to the ground. Officers say he then fled on foot and refused verbal commands.
Knudsen was eventually captured. Arrest records indicate a small, plastic tube containing white residue was found in his pocket. The residue field tested positive for cocaine. Knudsen also allegedly showed multiple signs of intoxication and refused breath testing.
Knudsen is charged with 1st Degree Harassment, Domestic Abuse Assault Causing Injury, Interference with Official Acts, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Public Intoxication. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum of over three years in prison.
Knudsen was arrested at the Mellow Mushroom in November of 2018 after he allegedly struck a waitress on the butt and was found with what was believed to be cocaine on his person. An Assault charge was dismissed, and he was given a deferred judgement on a Possession of a Controlled Substance charge.
Knudsen is the former owner of Mellow Mushroom. Representatives from the restaurant contacted KCJJ Thursday to say he is no longer involved in the business.