Johnston Man Hurt in Ball Cap Flap at West Des Moines Breakfast Spot

A testy exchange over a major league baseball cap at a popular West Des Moines after-hours breakfast spot sent a Johnston man to the hospital early Sunday morning.

The victim told Officer Blaine Brinkmeyer that while he was dining at the restaurant, 1224 Jordan Creek Parkway, with a friend about 3:15 a.m., he asked another of the restaurant’s guests about what he thought was a light blue Houston Oilers cap.

That reportedly didn’t sit well with the other customer, later identified as a 31-year-old West Des Moines man. He informed the victim “it was not a Houston Oilers hat, but a Chicago team hat,” according to Brinkmeyer’s report.

No harm, no foul, it seemed. The verbal exchange over, the Johnston man and his friend finished their meals and then went separate directions.

The victim told police he was in his car and about to leave when the man in the baseball cap exited a beige Saab and blocked his vehicle, preventing him from exiting the parking stall. At the same time, the suspect’s companion pulled the Saab around, further barricading the victim’s car.

The suspect reportedly asked the Johnston man to get out of the vehicle and fight. He declined, so the other man reportedly began swinging his fist at him. The victim said he blocked one punch, but the suspect struck him under the eye, causing a laceration. He was not seriously injured and drove himself to a Des Moines hospital for treatment, according to the report.

Police have located the owner of the Saab, who said his son was driving the car at the time, but he was not at home at the time. He faces first-degree burglary charges, Brinkmeyer wrote in his report, because the victim was in his vehicle at the time he was approached and assaulted.