Man wanted in connection with parking lot assault

By Brandi Makuski

Stevens Point police say they’re on the lookout for a Mosinee man suspected of assaulting a woman and her son in the parking lot of a north side restaurant.

Orlando C. Kerstell-Morales, 33, fled the scene before police arrived at 127 Division St. North on May 26. At least one person called 911 to report Kerstell-Morales was assaulting people in the parking lot of Perkins Family Restaurant.

Assistant Police Chief Mike Rottier said Kerstell-Morales was traveling with several other people, including the victim and her son, from Mosinee to Wisconsin Dells when an argument broke out inside the vehicle. The group decided to cancel the trip and stopped at Perkins before turning around.

According to the incident report, when the 32-year-old woman in the group called her mother from inside the vehicle to say they were returning to Mosinee, Kerstell-Morales grabbed her phone then “broke it, and tossed it out the [car] window.”

When the group stopped at the restaurant, Rottier said, the woman and her 11-year-old son left the vehicle. When the boy attempted to retrieve the phone, Kerstell-Morales struck the boy on the head.

When the woman used another phone to call the police, Kerstell-Morales reportedly became upset and attacked the woman, forcing her to the ground where he strangled her and also injured her hand.

Rottier said Kerstell-Morales had to be stopped by a witness at the scene.

“He is at large; we called Marathon County and the Portage County Sheriff’s Office but nobody has seen him yet,” Rottier said.

Kerstell-Morales is described as a Hispanic male, 5’9″, 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on Kerstell-Morales’ whereabouts should contact the Stevens Point Police Dept. at (715) 346-1500.