Burnsville Man Accused of Smashing Ex's Car with Hammer

A Burnsville man has been charged with criminal damage to property after police say he used a hammer to smash out the headlight of his ex-girlfriend’s car last week.

Michael Richard Sirek, 28, is charged with first-degree criminal damage to property, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of domestic assault, which has a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police were called to Sirek’s home in the 1700 block of 140th Street West just after midnight Sept. 14. 

Sirek’s ex-girlfriend told police that she and Sirek were arguing about their previous relationship, and he smashed her headlight with a small hammer. When she began to cry, Sirek told her she had “two seconds” to leave, then grabbed a sledgehammer and began walking toward her, the complaint says.

The victim told police she didn’t know whether Sirek was coming after her or her car. She said he said either, “I’m going to [expletive] you up” or “I’m going to [expletive] your car up,” then swung the sledgehammer at her car, hitting it on the hood and the side panel.

The victim said she was frightened that Sirek would try to hurt her with the hammer, and she fled.

Sirek told police that he told the victim to leave his house because she was lying to him. He admitted smashing her car’s headlight because he felt he was being “disrespected,” according to the complaint, and admitted that the victim was likely scared.

Sirek told police that when he began to close his garage door, the victim began to shake and “hyperventilate,” looking at him as though he was going to murder her. He said he told her to “get the [expletive] out.”

He said he believed the victim left because she thought he was going to “hack her into pieces,” according to the complaint.

The damage to the victim’s vehicle was estimated at more than $1,000.

Sirek is free on a $20,000 bond. A pretrial hearing on a request for a domestic abuse no-contact order is scheduled for Oct. 10 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.