Grieg Man Allegedly Threatens American Legion Members with Knife in Western

An Oneida County man is under arrest following an incident and subsequent car chase.

The Oneida County Sheriff's Office says that 54-year-old Wayne Ernst of Grieg, New York was transferred to the custody of Oneida County Sheriff's deputies after being initially taken into custody by the Lewis County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies say Ernst "allegedly menaced patrons at the [American Legion] Western Memorial Post 1846 with a knife."  No potential motive for the alleged incident has been given by authorities.  No injuries were reported.  Police say Ernst then fled the scene and was subsequently involved in a vehicle pursuit with the Lewis County Sheriff's Office on March 20, 2022.

The pursuit ended when Ernst crashed his vehicle into a tree.

No injuries or additional incidents were reported as a result of the arrest.  Police say Ernst was issued multiple traffic tickets returnable to a court in Lewis County at a later date.

In addition to the traffic tickets he was given, Ernst was charged with the following:

• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 3rd Degree (Class D felony)
• Menacing in the 2nd Degree (Class A misdemeanor)

He was booked at the Oneida County Correctional Facility and is awaiting a court appearance.

[AUTHOR'S NOTE:   This post is for informational purposes only and is based largely on information received from the Oneida County Sheriff's Office.  The reader is reminded that all suspects and arrested persons are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.  At the time of this posting no additional information is available.]