A 31-year-old Dassel, Minnesota, man is in custody after day-long standoff

Jennifer Kotila, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·2 min read

Aug. 3—DASSEL

— A 31-year-old rural Dassel man is in custody on a pending charge of terroristic threats after a standoff with law enforcement that lasted more than a day.

The man finally exited his home south of Dassel at approximately 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, according to a news release from the Meeker County Sheriff's Office.

He is being held in the Meeker County Jail on a felony arrest warrant awaiting his first court appearance. The West Central Tribune does not typically name suspects before they have been formally charged in court.

According to the release, Meeker County Sheriff's Office received a call at approximately 5:30 p.m. Aug. 1 that a man had threatened to shoot some family members.

The man also made threats to harm law enforcement if they responded, and was reportedly going to go from his residence in the 17300 block of 745th Avenue to a relative's home nearby, according to the release.

The information from the investigation indicated the man may be in possession of firearms, which he is prohibited from possessing due to an incident that occurred in November of 2020, according to the release.

Responding deputies attempted to contact him, a search warrant was obtained, and the Kandiyohi/Meeker SWAT Team also responded to the scene at approximately 9:15 p.m. Aug. 1.

A perimeter was established and repeated attempts to talk the man out of the home failed. Chemical irritant was projected into the house, but that also failed to get him to cooperate and exit the house, according to the news release.

SWAT teams from McLeod County, Hutchinson Police, Wright County and Willmar Police were called to assist and relieve the initial SWAT team, and attempts to negotiate and bring the situation to a peaceful end continued throughout the day on Aug. 2.

An arrest warrant for felony terroristic threats was obtained on Aug. 2 as well.

Neither the man nor law enforcement were injured during the incident, and the investigation is ongoing. Additional charges may result from the investigation, according to the release.

Also assisting at the scene were Allina Ambulance, Dassel Fire Department and Woodland Centers Mobile Crisis Response Team.