Several charges have been filed against a Forest Lake, Minn., man who reportedly was shot with his own gun after bringing it to a Northwestern Wisconsin cabin and confronting a couple.
Ronald D. Aune, 53, was charged Wednesday in Burnett County Circuit Court with kidnapping, false imprisonment and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety -- all felonies -- along with misdemeanor charges of criminal trespassing and two counts of disorderly conduct.
Aune was booked into the Chisago County Jail but no longer was in custody there Thursday afternoon. A number listed for him was not in service Thursday, and he could not be reached for comment.
According to the criminal complaint:
Burnett County sheriff's deputies responded about 8:15 p.m. Saturday to a report of a man with a gun at a cabin in the town of Swiss. Once there, deputies spoke with Edwin Frank and Christine Johnson, who both said Aune had come to the cabin where they were staying and confronted them.
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Frank told deputies that Johnson was his girlfriend and Aune's ex-girlfriend. He said Aune walked into the cabin holding a pistol and said in a raised voice, "Where is she? Where is she?" Aune threatened to shoot Frank if he did not tell him where Johnson was, Frank said.
Johnson told deputies she hid under a bed after hearing Aune yelling at Frank.
Aune then searched the cabin for Johnson. He held a gun to Frank's face several times, and after not finding Johnson, told Frank to get into his truck, Frank told investigators.
While the pair was in Aune's truck, Johnson walked outside and Aune became distracted. Frank grabbed the gun to try to disarm Aune, and the gun fired once as the two struggled, said Frank, adding he was able to take the gun from Aune and then hide it in the cabin. Frank told deputies he then called 911.
He returned outside to find Aune on top of Johnson. Frank said he kicked Aune to get him off Johnson and told him he had called 911, at which point Aune left in his truck.
When asked what motivated Aune to come to the cabin, Johnson said, "Because he's upset I'm with Ed." She told investigators Aune had been physically abusive in the past and the pair had broken up earlier in the year.
Breath tests showed Frank and Johnson had been drinking that night, and a friend of Aune's reported Aune had been drinking as well.
That friend, Ted Sperling, told investigators Aune had showed up at his home between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. that night bleeding profusely from his right leg. Sperling said he had first responder and medical training and determined Aune had a gunshot wound to his calf.
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While taking Aune to the hospital, Aune said, "I was stupid, I was stupid," Sperling told investigators. Aune told him he had been having relationship troubles with his ex-girlfriend, and her new boyfriend tried to take away his gun, Sperling said
Deputies located Aune on Sunday at Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming, Minn., where he was being treated for the gunshot wound. They also located his vehicle at Sperling's home and recovered bloody clothes, two rifles, a shotgun, two pistols and ammunition from the truck.
The Burnett County sheriff's office said Thursday that the gun believed to have been used in the incident also has been recovered.
