A resident of a Bemidji mobile home park called 911 last week to report that her neighbor, known as “Wild Bill,” was threatening to kill children outside her home.
William Winegar, 60, is accused of approaching two Black children while armed with swords and knives, saying he was going to “kill all Blacks” and “kill all you Blacks,” according to a felony terroristic threat charge filed this week in Beltrami County, where Winegar had been convicted of terroristic threats before his civil commitment for mental illness in 2012.
He remains in the county jail and no attorney for him is listed.
Beltrami County Attorney David Hanson said Winegar is well known to law enforcement and that while his behavior is abhorrent, it’s not a level of violence that will send him to prison.
“A lot of people with mental health issues say a lot of things and never act on them,” Hanson said.
Winegar spent time in the county jail over the years along with a six-month commitment for mental health treatment.
The civil commitment petition noted that Winegar is a veteran who was on an emergency hold at the hospital as he was “likely to cause serious imminent physical harm to self or others.”
Hanson said a mental health evaluation could come up in future court proceedings for the recent terroristic threat.