TWO HARBORS -- The fourth of six Ely residents charged in last summer's Basswood Lake shooting spree pleaded guilty Monday in 6th Judicial District Court in Lake County.
Jay Andrew Olson, 20, testified to his activities on the night of Aug. 7, 2007, calling it "by far'' the worst day of his life and saying he behaved "terribly.'' He said he drove a boat with two other suspects for several hours on Basswood Lake that night, with the group firing an AK-47 rifle and mortar-like fireworks and harassing campers while drinking beer.
While he said he never intended to harm anyone, he said he did intend to annoy them and understands now why many campers said they feared for their lives.
"I scared a lot of people ... and I may have ruined my life forever,'' Olson said in the courtroom.
Olson pleaded guilty to one felony count of aiding and abetting terroristic threats; one felony count of aiding and abetting harassment with a firearm; two gross misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property; one misdemeanor count of possession of stolen property; and one misdemeanor count of reckless discharge of a firearm.
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State statutes call for a mandatory minimum sentence of at least three years in a state prison for the felony firearms charge, though Olson's attorney, David Keegan, made it clear he will ask Judge Kenneth Sandvik to depart from state guidelines and impose a shorter sentence at a local jail.
Olson, who has been attending Bemidji State University, will be sentenced July 7. He also agreed to testify in any trials of other suspects in the case, and he is banned from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness until his sentence and probation are complete.
Olson's plea leaves just two of six suspects' cases outstanding.
Barney James Lakner, 37, faces a jury trial as early as September. Lakner was scheduled for a court appearance Monday, but that was postponed at his attorney's request, one of several of such delays. Judge Sandvik ordered Lakner to appear June 16 and said no additional delays would be allowed without his approval.
Meanwhile, Matthew Bernard Urbas of Ely, now 17, is awaiting trial in the case. Urbas, who was 16 at the time of the incident, is being handled in juvenile court but his case is open to the public because he is charged with felony crimes.
Urbas faces 23 felony, gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident. His trial and sentence will be handled as if he is an adult. In court documents obtained Monday, Urbas told law enforcement officers after his arrest that he had been drinking and that the group harassed the campers by firing weapons and swearing at them in an effort at "defending his territory'' -- meaning the BWCAW --against people who were "taking it away.''
All six suspects were apprehended at a boat landing shortly after the shooting. Authorities said Lakner was arrested wearing a knit cap with fake dreadlocks and possessing a .45-caliber handgun and several clips. He has been cited previously for alcohol-related crimes and was charged with operating a snowmobile in the BWCAW.
According to the criminal complaint, the men brought cases of beer, a bottle of schnapps, mortar-like fireworks, a Russian-style semi-automatic assault rifle, a .45-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun, a .22-caliber handgun and a .22 rifle into the wilderness for their evening boat ride. They stopped at and near several campsites where they fired rounds and verbally threatened campers. No one was hurt.
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Three other suspects, who arrived on Basswood Lake later and joined the group after the incident had started, were sentenced last month after pleading guilty to lesser charges in exchange for agreeing to testify against others in the case.
Zachary Ross Barton, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of felony aiding and abetting terroristic threats and one misdemeanor count each of reckless discharge of a firearm and underage consumption of alcohol. Barton will serve 20 days in a local jail and three years' probation on the felony charge.
Casey James Fenske, 19, pleaded guilty to one felony count of aiding and abetting terroristic threats, a gross misdemeanor for criminal damage to property and a misdemeanor charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. Fenske will serve at least nine months at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center or a similar facility and will be on probation for three years. He also will pay restitution for damage he inflicted on a federal water level-gauging station on Basswood Lake in an earlier incident.
Travis John Erzar, 20, pleaded guilty to a felony count of aiding and abetting terroristic threats and a misdemeanor count of underage consumption of alcohol. Erzar will serve no jail time but will serve three years of probation on the felony charge. The felony will be reduced to a misdemeanor in Erzar's court record if he serves the probation without problem.
All were banned from the BWCAW for three years.
