Volk sentenced to five years for terrorizing and criminal trespass

Jason R. O'Day, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
Updated ·2 min read
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Apr. 10—DICKINSON — A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in prison for breaking into a South Heart woman's home, firing multiple rounds and making vulgar threats against her during his arrest, after pleading guilty to terrorizing and criminal trespass charges.

Evan Volk, of Dickinson, upon breaking into the residence discovered a handgun and proceeded to shoot multiple rounds inside the house. Stark County Sheriff's Deputy Stephen Byrne, along with his K-9, searched the property and found Volk sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. They also discovered a shotgun, which also belonged to the homeowner. Sgt. John Hiltunen documented that, during the arrest process, Volk made several vulgar and threatening statements towards the victim.

Following a plea agreement, Southwest District Judge James Gion sentenced Volk to five years in prison for each of his offenses. However, two years were suspended for the charge of terrorizing and three years were suspended for criminal trespass. The Stark County Clerk of Court's Office confirmed that both sentences will be served concurrently, meaning that Volk will serve both sentences simultaneously. Additionally, Volk was given credit for the 96 days he had already served in jail. After completing his sentence around Dec. 25, 2025, Volk will begin three years of supervised probation.

On Jan. 10, The Dickinson Press published an

article

detailing how the Stark County State's Attorney's Office had only charged Volk with one of the four offenses, Class C Felony Criminal Trespass, but that the three charges recommended by the arresting deputies were not brought against Volk. The day after the article was published, Volk was charged with a second charge of Class C Felony Terrorizing.

According to the filed report by the deputies, Volk was also recommended for charges of a Class C Felony Felon in Possession of a Firearm and a misdemeanor for criminal mischief.

Multiple attempts by The Press to reach Assistant State's Attorney James Hope by phone, to inquire as to why the other charges recommended were not accepted by the State's Attorney Office, were not returned for either the April 6 or April 10 attempts.

In September, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley had advocated for stricter sentencing laws in cases of violent crime. However, state lawmakers had recently removed provisions from a bill that would have enforced mandatory minimums for specific gun and drug-related crimes. Earlier this month, Wrigley expressed disappointment that the core objective of the bill has been rendered ineffectual due to these modifications.

As of Monday, Evan Volk was still being held as an inmate at the Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center.