Basswood Arrests?

[Fur Fish and Feathers]

Anyone else see/hear/post about this? stfcatfish? I heard about it on KAXE this morning and the only info in print I could find was on the Lake County Sheriff's Press Release page (KAXE's report (maybe via the TimberJay?) was pretty interesting)....

Arrest in BWCA

The Lake County Sheriff's Office has apprehended 5 adult Ely residents and one juvenile Ely resident as a result of incidents that occurred on Basswood Lake in the late evening hours of August 7, 2007.

Barney James Lakner, age 37, and Jay Andrew Olson, age 19, were arrested for Terroristic Threats. The remaining 3 adults and one juvenile will be charged by Summons and Complaint procedures.

Lakner and Olson are in the Lake County Jail pending arrainment.

The investigation is on-going with assistance from the U.S. Forest Service, St. Louis County Sheriff's Office, and the Ely Police Department.

[Steve Foss]

That's news to me, but then, I'm no longer in the news business. I quit the Timberjay in June and have spent the rest of the summer enjoying the fact that I don't have to walk around town with my ear always to the ground.

[Fur Fish and Feathers]

I missed the first part of the story but it sounded like they were going from site to site (not sure if they were trying to rob people of camp stoves and toilet paper or what the deal was) messing with people. Apparently this involved hand guns that were confiscated at the Fall Lake access when they came out at midnight and were arrested. Apparently several parties were accosted but had cell phones and were able to make calls. Based on the camp site numbers and the times that the confrontations were happening, the PO-LEECE and the Forest Service figured the guys were headed toward the Fall Lake access where they were arrested. I'm impressed that they were able to figure that out.....and so quickly.

Quit the TJ? Does this mean more Burntside reports should be coming?

[Steve Foss]

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Quit the TJ? Does this mean more Burntside reports should be coming?

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With luck, FFF, with luck. Actually, I'm dusting off my bow and getting back in shape with it to do some bowhunting for the first time in four years.

[Surface Tension]

Looks like they were causing havoc along their entire way out too. Story in the TimberJay

[ITSATHRILL]

Has anybody ever heard of anything simuliar to this over the years?

[Fur Fish and Feathers]

People getting tanked and causing a ruckus in and around the BWCA, yes........taking it to this level, no.

[Surface Tension]

I haven't and its usually quite the opposite. Folks just out to enjoy the land & water. Thats what bothers me the most about this crime.

[gunflint]

I shutter to think what would have happened if they would have threatened me in the wilderness. The Headlines would have been a lot different. Not that I'm a hard case But I certainly would have defended myself against the threat of death or great bodily harm.

[ripstick]

To tell you the truht I think we have enough trouble around without (Contact Us Please) like this.

[SKIPPERS KID]

I would have been scared as well as most but I would have defended the life god gave me , I would have done some thing that would have been wrong but I might not be hear today . Well I am glad it was not me there and I thank god I was not there glad now one was heart .

[chunkytrout]

I had a feeling that this would be coming to this board. Fact is, there's no hard facts yet. Rumors galore being Ely and all. At any rate, I saw Barney driving the breadtruck the other day so he must be out on bail.

[jiganator]

[edited by admin]

[JustinG]

I heard there were fireworks and an AK-47 involved.

[jiganator]

I don't know about that..I heard something like that but the story in the Timberjay only says they took two handguns from them

Bullets are bullets, their lucky they didn't hurt or kill someone.

Maybe somebody should stop drinking(and whatever else) but maybe thats a little too late.

who knows, with the justice system we have. They will most likey walk with a slap to the rist. If it were I, I would still be in jail and they would have throwen the key away by now.

I hope some of these people who where threatened stick with this and see that justice is served. Some people need to learn a lesson

[threeball]

Why the heck would someone, whether drunk or otherwise, want to bother a bunch of folks in the woods? Is there any word on motive? Theft, anything beyond just being ...?

If guns were involved, this won't be a slap on the wrist deal.

[Wanderer]

You just can't explain some folks. Hope I don't meet him.

[jiganator]

what will he(they) get?

Depends on the County Attorny...he(they) could plea bargin it down to something as simple as a Gross misdemeanor by pleading guilty.

IMO, you do something this stupid, you should be charged and covicted the Mximum the law will allow

People go to the BWCA to enjoy themselves in a place free of the troubles of the cities. It's like a safe zone...off limits to the things you see on the news every night

[Surface Tension]

I'd like to keep this thread going with accurate info. To do that we have to watch the rumors, hear-say, and control our personal opinions and emotions on the matter.

So far we've heard some info. We need to wait till all the facts come out, hopefully that'll happen soon.

There'll be a press release by officials on Monday.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, Frank, you beat me to it.

And even with the press release, we won't know what happened. In our corner of the world here, usually all we have in any pre-trial newspaper or TV news story is the law enforcement side of things. What the cops and county attorney believe happened based on their gathering of evidence and interviewing witnesses. Reporters then gather their details from the law enforcement officers and attorney, and from the investigators' suppositions contained in the criminal complaint, which is filed with the court after charges are drawn up.

And absolutely nothing against law enforcement, which generally does an excellent job. But the fact is, defendants rarely are allowed by their attorneys to comment on these things in the media, so all readers get is one side. People who are charged with crimes are not guilty until it's been proven in court and they get a chance to present their side of things. Until that happens, they are innocent.

In my nearly 15 years as a reporter and editor at newspapers, including several years reporting the crime beat or supervising reporters who did, the thing that bothered me most about stories like the one linked to here is that they are one-sided, and it's human nature for readers to automatically try, convict and pass judgment on the defendants after reading the first news story about the issue.

So let's remember, we don't really know what happened that night at Basswood Lake. We weren't there, and we have not been given a balanced enough news report upon which to base our judgments.

Things like what we think happened on Basswood bring strong reactions from us, and we don't want to squelch those reactions. This board is a great place to discuss this stuff. But please let's not bring up rumors about people's pasts in this situation. That's like hog-piling on top of someone when they are down.

[threeball]

Well, lets not take ourselves too seriously on a fishing forum.

This isn't a newspaper or news source. In my opinion, its a place for an exchange of information; readers understand the level of due diligence which may or may not have been exercised by posters when they consider the information in the post. I don't underestimate the level of intelligence of readers.

As a lawyer, I know that defendants make their own call on comments to the media. Lawyers can't order you to do anything or refrain from doing anything. Most defendants choose not to comment because they want the preserve the possibility of surprise at trial. Certainly that is not always the case. To illustrate, consider the fact that judges sometimes issue gag orders on both sides. That would not be necessary if defendants always chose not to talk. If they choose not to talk, they accept the fact that their defense, if any, will not be told for some time.

Anyway, this is just a fishing forum. I don't think that there some realationship of trust by readers. We should all take that into account when deciding what weight to accord the various posts, as well as when monitoring the thread.

[Steve Foss]

I agree with a lot that you say, threeball, and one can take one's self too seriously, for sure.

[threeball]

That said, is there any word on some motivation for the disturbances?

Without some motive this just doesn't seem to make sense. Maybe this is one those instances when it never will make sense.

[Steve Foss]

I haven't heard anything about motive.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

IMO, I believe it's just some local punks wanting to go "mess" with the tourists/tree huggers in the BWCA. There is so much annomosity up there between the "locals" and "tourists", as well as the "wilderness". From my time living up there I noticed this, and can see how it's passed on throughout the generations. Really too bad. But it's the same thing everywhere you go. There are always some bad apples spoiling reputations.

[Steve Foss]

I hear you, Brent. I got called a packsacker by a local just the other day, and not in a good-natured way. Not the first time, not the last. I imagine it'll go on for a long time. It's not unique to Ely, though the feelings seem to run very deep here among some folks. I've talked to several of them about it and have come to believe I understand their viewpoint. And sympathize with it.

I'd sure like to see a media source track down some of those many witnesses and get their side of things. That would be interesting to read.

[gunflint]

This kind of incident doesn't necessarily have anything to do with "Locals vs Tourists." We manage a USFS Campground and we get our share of "guests" that insist on disrupting everyone else's time in the woods.

I have very little sympathy for folks that either don't know how or refuse to defend themselves. But I have absolutely no sympathy for thugs that take advantage of, or terrorize the gentle folks. Particularly when firearms are involved.

[threeball]

Certainly there are (Contact Us Please) among tourists and locals, both in northern MN and everywhere else. That shouldn't surprise anyone who is an adult.

I guess I have more sympathy than Gunflint for the peolple who were harassed. Maybe he knows more of the story than I have read, but if a guy is harassing you, possibly with a gun, and by shutting up you can have him go away without injury to anyone, it seems to me to be a good choice. Someone could be dead otherwise.

Lets say the camper is someone's daughter or mother. Don't they have every right to enjoy the outdoors without this BS?

In my opinion, the ugly debate has blinded people from good sense. There are sometimes good points on both sides that we should be able to use if we can simply stop opposing everything the other side proposes. I'm not a full time resident, am certainly not a friend of the "friends," but believe that blind allegiances won't get anyone anywhere (look at Congress).

I don't want to imply that I know that these issues were the cause of the disturbances.

[hanson]

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Maybe you know more of the story than I have read, but if some guy is threatening you, possibly with a gun, and by shutting up you can have him go away without harm to anyone, it seems to me a very wise choice. Someone could be dead otherwise; that is not "defending yourself."

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I agree. I'm all for the path of least resistance in that case and if keeping my mouth shut and complying lets me live another day, I'm taking that route.

[Surface Tension]

It was a roll of the dice how this could have played out and we weren't there. No one knew the outcome till it was over.

If someone got hurt we'd be here thinking "boy if only someone would have stopped them".

We weren't there. The last thing anyone would want to do shoot someone, in that same breath the last thing anyone would want to do is not defend themselves.

Maybe there were campers there that could have used lethal force but didn't because it wasn't warranted. We don't know. I'd like to hear the statements form the campers.

Seems like it turned out right. No one got hurt and the bad guys got caught.