Court report: Man accused of holding pistol to woman’s head

Corey Robert Burton, 43, of rural Menahga, has been charged in Becker County District Court with two felonies -- unlawful possession of a firearm and second-degree assault.

According to court records, on Sept. 7, a woman reported that Burton, her husband, had put a 9 mm handgun in her mouth and then held it to the back of her head. The two had been drinking and arguing all night, and when he started tapping her forehead with a beer bottle, she went outside. He locked the house door and told her to leave. She sat in the car to call the police, and that’s when he pulled the gun on her.

Surveillance video from the house backed up the woman’s story.

Burton was convicted of felony third-degree controlled substance crime in 2005 and felony possession of meth with intent to manufacture in 2009, and so cannot legally possess guns or ammunition.

On Sept. 9, District Judge Mike Fritz set cash bail for Burton at $10,000 or bond at $50,000, with standard conditions of release, or bond at $100,000 without conditions.

Charles Edward Taylor, 25, of Detroit Lakes, has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony first-degree criminal damage to property.

According to court records, on Aug. 14, officers were called to do a welfare check on him at his Detroit Lakes apartment.

They found broken glass and blood on the carpet outside the apartment door. Inside they found the door of the stove and the microwave oven door had been torn off, two TV sets had been broken, cabinet doors were broken off, and there was glass all over the floors. The damage totaled about $10,000.

Taylor is accused of causing the damage after his girlfriend broke up with him and left him in the apartment. He admitted in a Facebook message to a family member that he had broken two TV sets and cut himself.

On Sept. 3, District Judge Gretchen Thilmony issued a summons for Taylor to appear in court at a date that has not yet been set because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Jeffrey Scott Gunderson, 26, of Detroit Lakes, has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and misdemeanor driving after his license was revoked.

According to court records, at 1:57 a.m. on Sept. 1, Detroit Lakes police officers responded to Central Street East on the report that Gunderson was very drunk and threatening someone. He was driving his mother’s red Chevy four-door car.

An officer heard squealing car tires and saw the Chevy, but Gunderson fled at high speeds when the officer tried to pull him over. He drove several blocks around the north side of town before abruptly stopping and surrendering to the officer. His license had been revoked.

On Sept. 2, District Judge Gretchen Thilmony set cash bail or bond for Gunderson at $10,000, with standard conditions of release, or bond at $20,000 without conditions.

Doyle Lee Leitheiser, 45, of rural Detroit Lakes, has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony second-degree assault.

According to court records, on Sept. 3, a deputy was called to a rural Becker County residence on the report that Leitheiser was hitting people and things with a baseball bat. When the officer arrived, two males had Leitheiser pinned to the ground. Two people there had injuries, at least one caused by a baseball bat to the back of the leg. The man said Leitheiser had swung the bat at him and missed, before hitting him in the leg.

On Sept. 8, District Judge Mike Fritz set cash bail for Leitheiser at $2,500 or bond at $25,000, with standard conditions of release, or bond at $50,000 without conditions.

Sadie Beth Roehrick, 21, of Detroit Lakes has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony theft.

According to court records, on May 5, a Detroit Lakes police officer was called to Walmart on the report of an employee theft. Roehrick is accused of thefts from April 9 to May 2 totaling over $1,000. The thefts were captured on store video.

On Sept. 9, District Judge Gretchen Thilmony issued a summons for her to appear in court at a date that has not yet been set because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Ian Carter Sexton, 26, of Montgomery, Minn., has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony violating a domestic abuse no-contact order.

According to court records, at 4:05 a.m. on Sept. 4, a tribal police officer was dispatched to a Ponsford residence. A woman had called her daughter, crying, because Sexton was inside her apartment. The police officer found him there, in violation of a no-contact order issued July 28.

Sexton was convicted of domestic assault in 2015 and fourth-degree assault in 2011.

On Sept. 9, District Judge Mike Fritz set cash bail for Sexton at $2,000 or bond at $20,000, with standard conditions of release, or bond at $30,000 without conditions.

John Lawrence Bigbear, 41, of rural Waubun has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony first-degree burglary and felony second-degree burglary.

According to court records, on Sept. 4, a deputy was called to a man’s house where people were coming in uninvited. He said they took his car keys and were trying to take his vehicle. Bigbear was arrested after the man, who was home at the time, saw him enter the garage, and then saw him enter the house and started grabbing things off a shelf.

On Sept. 8, District Judge Mike Fritz set cash bail for Bigbear at $2,000 or bond at $20,000, with standard conditions of release, or bond at $50,000 without conditions.

Jared Michael Noel, 33, of West Fargo, N.D., has been charged in Becker County District Court with two felony counts of DWI.

According to court records, on Sept. 4, a deputy on Becker County Road 5 saw the vehicle Noel was driving tailgating a car, and then saw it weave over the fog line four times.

After being pulled over, the officer smelled alcohol in his vehicle, Noel performed poorly on three field sobriety tests, and was arrested. His blood alcohol level tested at .12% at the jail. There was an open case of Heineken and multiple unopened cans of Bud Light in the back seat.

He was convicted of felony DWI in 2011.

On Sept. 8, District Judge Mike Fritz set cash bail for Noel at $500 or bond at $5,000, with standard conditions of release, or bond at $15,000 without conditions.

Joseph Lee Rosenberg, 34, of rural Vergas, has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony fifth-degree controlled substance crime, gross misdemeanor possession of a dangerous weapon, misdemeanor driving after his license was revoked, and petty misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to court records, on Aug. 31, a Detroit Lakes police officer saw him ride his motorcycle into the Sucker Creek Preserve parking lot. He noticed that the registration had expired, and that 2016 tabs had been altered, apparently with black marker.

A set of brass knuckles was strapped to the bike’s battery compartment, and Rosenberg’s driver’s license had been revoked. In one saddlebag, the officer found a black and silver case that contained syringes, two baggies of marijuana, and four grams of meth in a baggie.

On Sept. 2, District Judge Gretchen Thilmony ordered him released on his own recognizance, without bail.