Charges: Lakeville Man Had Loaded Handguns in Reach of Children

Police say Justin Paul Mertz, 26, of Lakeville, threatened to kill his wife, and when police went to his home to issue an restraining order, they found a loaded handgun under the refrigerator where his three and five year old children could reach.

As a result, Mertz faces one felony count of making terroristic threats and one count of negligent storage of firearms by the Dakota County Attorney's Office.

, on May 21, arrived at the home of Mertz to issue an order for protection filed against him by his wife. While there, police discovered Mertz had a loaded .9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun under the refrigerator in the kitchen. Next to the loaded handgun, police also found two more fully loaded .9 millimeter magazines next to the handgun under the refrigerator. Police also discovered the children could reach the gun.

The original incident that solicited the restraining order happened on May 20, when, according to the criminal complaint, Mertz and his wife had been arguing when he threatened to kill her.

When his wife asked Mertz to leave, he refused, saying he would "never leave until someone forces him to.”

The complaint said Metz then said, “If you ever do something like that, you know what I’m capable of. You know I got guns. You’d be dead.” Mertz also told her that he did not mind living in a 6 by 6 cell.

His wife described Mertz as "very angry" with "clenched fists" and being "tight-lipped," and she took the threat seriously, according to the complaint.

His wife also said that, at times, Mertz would sit at the kitchen table with the handgun in front of him, the complaint said.

Police attempted to take a statement from Mertz, but he declined. Is next court appearence is set for next month.

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