Man cut wires behind business to relieve pressure on his brain

Police say a 65-year-old Hastings, Minneapolis, man has admitted to cutting the wires behind a local business because they were contributing to the pressure on his brain. Raymond Bischoff faces one count of criminal damage to property, a felony.

Officers were sent to the Hastings business after a 911 call was disconnected. The victim told officers that someone had cut the Internet wire as well as the phone line outside of his business. Just days earlier, someone had also cut the Internet wire, the gutter heater wire and the business’ two TV dish cables.



The damage total exceeded $1,000. Officers saw Bischoff standing in a nearby parking lot, watching repairmen fix the wires. Officers spoke with Bischoff and matched his bootprints to the pattern found in the snow near the cut wires.

Bischoff then told officers he cut the wires with a small blade on up to three occasions. He also told police that he is staying a nearby hotel and is having trouble with pressure on his brain, which he blames on the wires. If convicted, Bischoff faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.