OLIVIA, Minn. — Three convictions of assault with a dangerous weapon resulted in three prison sentences Tuesday, Oct. 15, for a Fairfax man.
Dane Michael VanderVoort, 33, was sentenced to three 36-month prison sentences, each for an assault on a different person. Two of the sentences will be served consecutively, and another will be served concurrently.
VanderVoort pleaded guilty to the three charges in August. He had originally been charged with nine felonies, including kidnapping, first-degree burglary, terroristic threats and theft of a firearm. He was also charged with using deadly force against a peace officer and attempting to disarm a peace officer. Those charges were dismissed at sentencing.
According to court documents, VanderVoort will receive credit for 213 days, about seven months, he already served in jail.
With the two consecutive sentences, VanderVoort is looking at a six-year sentence minus the time served. Under Minnesota law, he must serve at least two-thirds of his sentence in prison and may serve the last one-third on supervised probation.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to the complaint filed against him, VanderVoort had sent threatening text messages to a former girlfriend March 16, telling her to call people and tell them he was “taking everyone to hell tonight.”
Later in the day, the woman was at home with a female friend when VanderVoort entered the house. He carried a pistol and seized the friend’s cellphone. VanderVoort allegedly said he would start shooting if law enforcement was called.
At one point VanderVoort allegedly held the gun to his former girlfriend’s back. She was able to text her mother and ask her to call law enforcement.
According to the complaint, a Fairfax police officer knocked on the door and heard someone say “come in.” When he entered, he was confronted by VanderVoort, who pointed a pistol at him from four to five feet away.
The officer, “in immediate fear for his life,” grabbed the pistol and started to struggle with VanderVoort, according to the complaint. During the fight, VanderVoort made repeated attempts to grab the officer’s duty weapon and bit the officer’s head, causing a bloody wound.
After firing a stun gun twice, the officer was able to subdue VanderVoort, who allegedly had another pistol in his back pocket. Both guns belonged to a relative who told police he had not given VanderVoort permission to use them.
