Fort Dodge police, previously confused as to the defendant’s motives for the crash before allegedly leading police on a pursuit and breaking into an apartment complex, said in criminal complaints that Ertl was searching for a particular person he believed was inside Northern Lights.

After being denied entry to the building’s locked office entrance, witnesses said Ertl, 32, drove through a bay garage door, causing over $2,000 worth of damage. According to the complaints, Ertl believed the person he was looking for could give him “access to monetary gains,” and that he planned to remove them by force, if necessary.

After the unsuccessful attempt to locate that person, he drove back out through the newly-reformed bay entrance.

After locating Ertl’s car with a description given on Thursday, police reports said he led officers on a pursuit at speeds going at least 25 mph over the speed limit, ending at an apartment complex at 1127 Fourth Ave. N.

There, police said Ertl assaulted a woman while forcing his way into her apartment, shoving her out of the doorway as she attempted to prevent him from coming in. Complaints said he was also brandishing a large kitchen knife as he broke in, which initial police reports said was not displayed to Northern Lights employees.

Ertl has been charged with two counts of first-degree burglary, a Class B felony; second-degree criminal mischief, a Class D felony; and eluding, a Class D felony.

Ertl also faces two drug charges from an unrelated investigation: possession with intent to deliver a schedule two and schedule three controlled substances, Class C felonies.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 24.