Knife-wielding man arrested after trying to attack employees at Redding restaurant

May 19, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

REDDING, Calif. — Authorities say an erratic acting man who was undressing outside a Redding fast food restaurant and attempted to attack several employees while armed with two knives was arrested yesterday morning, Tuesday, May 18. The violent encounter that led to the man’s arrest happened at Jack in the Box at 800 E. Cypress Avenue, according to officials.

Yesterday morning’s arrest was just one of many made in recent days in Redding involving erratic behaving armed subjects, including two other incidents that both occurred Saturday. The first incident Saturday morning involved an Oregon man who called 911 and reported that he was being chased by unknown individuals and that he was armed with a loaded handgun. Fearing the man would possibly confront citizens “while in his unpredictable state”, quick-thinking dispatchers were able to calmly coax the delusional man into driving to the Redding Police Station where officers could contact him in a more controlled and safe setting, away from citizens.

The second incident occurred later in the afternoon when a drug-influenced woman – who was wielding a machete “dangerously close to a bounce house filled with children” and had a loaded firearm in her waistband – was confronted by family and friends attending a birthday celebration. Several of the parents, who were legal, CCW permit holders and were armed with their own firearms, confronted and held the woman until police officers arrived.

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City of Redding police officers were dispatched to the restaurant around 9:15 a.m. after receiving reports of a man who was armed with a knife and threatening employees at the location, Redding Police Corporal Ortega has since said of the incident and arrest.

When officers arrived they quickly located and detained Nicholas Tyler Minks, 32, of Redding.

Nicholas Minks was arrested after allegedly attempting to attack several employees outside a Redding Jack in the Box when they asked him to move away from the restaurant’s front door. Redding PD photo

During their subsequent investigation, officers determined Minks had been loitering in front of the restaurant while “undressing and acting bizarre,” Ortega described.

“When employees went outside and asked Minks to leave the location he threatened to harm several employees as he pulled out two knives and ran at them,” Ortega continued. “The employees were able to escape into the restaurant and secure the door just before Minks could reach them.”

After the employees fled into the safety of the restaurant, the enraged man began kicking the door and throwing items at the windows in an attempt to gain entry into the restaurant and the employees inside. He also began slashing the door’s window, causing damage to the window.

Based on their investigation, officers arrested Minks and he was later booked into the Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of making criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a deadly weapon, and vandalism.

Online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $27,500 bail or bond.

Anyone with further information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Redding PD at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 21R033030 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.