This is so unbelievable! How could these people be so stupid. It makes me sick to my stomach.
Charges filed in BWCAW rampage
Steve Kuchera
Duluth News Tribune - 09/18/2007
A desire to ?have some fun? and ?stir things up a little bit? has resulted in 79 criminal charges against five Ely men for an August incident in which campers in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness were harassed and terrorized. A petition also was filed against a 16-year-old.
According to the criminal complaints filed Friday by the Lake County attorney?s office, the suspects fired scores of bullets from four weapons, including a high-power, semi-automatic assault-style rifle, set off fireworks and shouted threats and obscenities at campers while traveling around Basswood Lake in two motorized boats on the night of Aug. 7.
One of the suspects told nearby campers ?maybe if you make us smores for an hour we won?t [expletive] kill you,? one of the complaints said. The suspects also called out to campers hiding in the woods, threatening to kill one and rape his daughter.
The five men are:
* Zachary Ross Barton, 19, charged with three felony counts of terroristic threats, six felony counts of harassment and one misdemeanor count each of reckless discharge of a firearm and underage consumption.
* Travis John Erzar, 20, charged with three felony counts of terroristic threats, six felony counts of harassment and one misdemeanor count of underage consumption.
* Casey James Fenske, 19, charged with four felony counts of terroristic threats, six felony counts of harassment, one felony count of criminal damage to property, and misdemeanor counts of reckless discharge of a firearm and underage consumption.
* Barney James Lakner, 37, charged with four felony counts of terroristic threats, 11 felony counts of harassment, two felony counts of possession of firearms, two gross misdemeanor counts of theft, and one misdemeanor count each of transporting an uncased firearm, reckless discharge of a firearm and possession and use of fireworks.
* Jay Andrew Olson, 19, charged with four felony counts of terroristic threats, 12 felony counts of harassment, two felony counts of criminal damage to property, two gross misdemeanor counts of theft, one gross misdemeanor count of possession of stolen property, and one misdemeanor count each of reckless discharge of a firearm and underage consumption.
The five were summoned to make their initial appearance in Lake County District Court on Oct. 1.
According to the criminal complaint filed against Lakner:
In his statement to police, Barton said that he and his companions ?were just going to go up there and have some fun.? He was in the second boat to enter the BWCAW. His group almost turned back because they couldn?t find the boat with Lakner, Olson and the juvenile in the dark when they saw a burst of fireworks in the distance.
After the two boats met at the area between Jackfish and Pipestone bays, the six fired shots from at least two guns, drank beer and discussed how the suspects in the first boat had gotten into a n argument with a camper over the suspects? behavior.
?Barton stated that individuals in both boats wanted to go back up there and ?stir things up a little bit? ? the complaint said.
When the campers heard motorboats returning, they hid in the woods while the suspects yelled obscenities and threats, including the statement that they might spare the campers? lives if they made s?mores.
Barton told authorities that he and his companions were laughing about the comments and ?thought it was cute and funny.?
The deputy who interviewed the family the next day reported that they were ?traumatized? and ?visibly shaken? by the events of the night before. One ?stated that he actually thought, for the first time in his life, he could actually be killed,? the complaint said.
While that encounter was perhaps the worst that happened that night, authorities talked to at least 80 people who at least heard gunfire and fireworks on Aug. 7. One witness said the s hooting and yelling lasted for about two hours. One group reported hearing 50 to 60 shots from a semi-automatic firearm. They then heard a motorboat approaching and more gunshots, and at least 20 more as it moved away.
Campers in another group reported that men in one boat shot at a beaver in the water.
?They could see the rounds hitting the water towards their campsite,? the complaint said.
Another camper ordered three children in his group to lie down, because he ?believed that one round was aimed in their direction.?
According to the complaint, at one site where seven children were present, the suspects came to shore to swim, refusing to leave when asked numerous times, swearing at the campers and stating that they owned the land.
?No, we came to skinny dip and plan to, you can watch if you want to,? the complaint quoted the suspects as saying.
?Then screaming drunken, broken phrases, two of them took their clothes off and ran around in the water,? the complaint said.
On two occasions, the complaint said, the suspects poured gas on the lake water and set it aflame. They also caused nearly $1,400 in damage to a water gauging station by wrecking its antenna. One boat went into Canada and fired multiple shots. Twenty-one shell casings were recovered in Canada.
Some of the campers were able to call law enforcement officials, and Lake County Sheriff?s deputies and federal agents met the boats when they returned to the Fall Lake Landing.
Items authorities recovered from the suspects? two boats included a high-powered, semi-automatic assault-style rifle with three 30-round clips, a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a .22 caliber rifle, a .22 caliber pistol, ammunition, spent shell casings, fireworks residue, beer and items stolen from one campsite.
Kris Reichenbach, spokeswoman of the Superior National Forest that includes the BWCAW, said Monday that a ?federal investigation is still ongo ing into violations of federal regulations? by the suspects but that no charges have yet been filed in federal court.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Provincial Police also are investigating the incident. It?s unclear whether Canadian charges will be brought for violations of Canadian firearms laws.
STEVE KUCHERA can be reached weekdays at (218) 279-5503 or by e-mail at skuchera@duluth
news.com. News Tribune staff writer John Myers contributed to this report.
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