WAUKESHA — A Milwaukee man is accused of being drunk and unruly, which culminated in his biting off a wedding guest’s fingertip at a wedding reception on Friday night in the Town of Oconomowoc.
Nathan Landsee, 24, was charged on Monday in Waukesha County Circuit Court with aggravated battery, a felony; and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. If convicted he faces 15 years in prison. A $25,000 signature bond was set for him. Landsee’s next court date is Nov. 9.
Town of Oconomowoc police officers were dispatched to the Club at Lac La Belle for a report of battery. The Club is a golf course and wedding venue. Landsee was found on the couch with blood on his sleeve and there was also blood on the floor between the foyer and ballroom. Inside the venue there was a table with blood on it. There were several people who appeared upset and some who were crying, according to the criminal complaint.
The venue manager, Witness A, told police two incidents occurred. The original incident was when Landsee allegedly inappropriately touched a female, which caused others to become upset with him. Landsee became agitated and started to yell, the complaint said.
Due to the disruption he was causing, the venue manager tried to move him to a side room away from the main ballroom. The venue manager said Landsee had been in the side room for a while. The bride and groom were trying to calm him down, which led to the second incident, the complaint said. After a while Landsee began yelling loudly and was disorderly. At some point the father of the groom, Witness B, entered the room and wanted Landsee to be asked to leave. The venue manager said as he entered the room, Landsee, who was on the other side of the room lunged at the father of the groom. Another person was attempting to restrain Landsee from striking the father of the groom. Landsee became very aggressive and loud, the complaint said.
The venue manager told him if he didn’t leave in five minutes the police would be called. Landsee started to lunge at him and attempted to strike him. People finally got Landsee out of the ballroom to get him to the front door. Landsee grabbed the venue manager’s shirt and pinned him against the wall. Landsee was thrashing around and three people had to grab him off the manager, the complaint said.
During that time, Landsee bit the tip off someone’s finger, the complaint said.
The other officers were able to get a written statement from the victim. Due to the injuries, he lost the ability to write so two officers had to take a verbal statement and write it down for Victim A, the complaint said.
Victim A’s statement said Landsee was “running his mouth” to the venue manager and it escalated to “fisticuffs.” He got behind Landsee in an attempt to control him and he grabbed him around his head area. Landsee turned towards him and his hand got into Landsee’s mouth and he bit down, the complaint said.
It appeared a half-inch of the finger had been bitten off. The bone inside the finger had been exposed. The complaint said Landsee appeared to be highly intoxicated and didn’t know what happened. He had a blood-alcohol reading of .210.
A sergeant stated while in in the foyer, a friend said that after Landsee calmed down and was walking towards the front door, the bride punched him in the head, the complaint said.
On Sunday, the victim told police the injury resulted in 18 or 19 stitches while the surgeon attempted to reattach the tip of his finger. The tip of the bone was damaged during the incident and therefore the surgery may not have been effective, according to the complaint.