WINONA, Minn. – A renter and his landlord got into a nasty scuffle that ended up with the swinging of a hammer at the landlord. There were bruises and scrapes but no one went to the hospital. Police arrested the tenant, Alec Karl Muller, 22, elsewhere on the Far West End. Police said that Muller admitted picking up the hammer, which they said witnesses confirmed. Here is how police reconstructed what happened:
> The landlord was showing the house, in the 1700 block of Hanover, to a prospective renter, as he had done several times in recent days.
> Muller, who lives in the house, confronted the landlord.
> Shouting turned into a scuffle on the ground. Punches were exchanged.
> The landlord retreated.
> Muller grabbed a hammer and swung repeatedly at landlord.
> The landlord pushed Muller back.
> Witnesses subdued Muller and retrieved the hammer.
> Muller drove off. Somebody called 911.
> Muller was jailed, and officers began drafting papers for an assault charge.
This was all early in the noon hour.
Muller. A renter-landlord dispute went from verbal to weaponized to jail.