Court news: Burnsville man charged when cops find 52 grams of fentanyl after scuffle in Detroit Lakes

DETROIT LAKES — Landen Gene Russette, 38, of Burnsville has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony first-degree and second-degree controlled substance crime.

According to court records, two special agents received information from multiple sources that Russette was actively selling fentanyl at a residence in the village of White Earth.

On Jan. 25, law enforcement learned that Russette had gone to the Twin Cities two days earlier and was returning to Detroit Lakes. Just after 3:40 a.m. on Jan. 26, a special agent met Russette at his car with a search warrant.

He was arrested after a brief scuffle, in which he was brought to the ground and would not show his hands until threatened with a taser.

A search of his person revealed marijuana, gabapentin pills and a black scale. A special agent walked back to the area where Russette was detained on the ground and discovered a black sock under the snow, containing a large plastic bindle that contained about 52 grams of fentanyl, with packaging.

At the Becker County Jail, Russette told a special agent he purchased the “dope” in Minneapolis for $40. He noted that the dope was not good and that was why it was so cheap, and said that the dope would test positive for fentanyl.

On Jan. 27, bail or bond was set at $250,000 without conditions of release, and bond and cash bail at $100,000 with conditions. On Jan. 27, his request for a public defender was approved.

An omnibus hearing is scheduled for Feb. 13 before District Judge Gretchen Thilmony.

Ronald Allen Solberg Jr., 50, of rural Dent has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony theft by swindle.

According to court records, on June 8, 2021, a woman who owns a lake property on Township Road 81 in Detroit Lakes reported that she had been looking for someone to tile a shower in the property and had come across an ad for RS 14 Construction, LLC, owned by Solberg.

The woman paid Solberg $1,200 to perform the work. She told a police investigator that the job was supposed to be done in two days, but it ended up taking four days. She said the work was very poorly done, with holes in the grout and a mess everywhere.

The woman said that Solberg told her that he was licensed, but she later found out that he is not licensed and that the Department of Labor had put a cease-and-desist order against him.

On July 15, 2021, a Becker County sheriff’s investigator again spoke to the woman, who said Solberg never came back to fix the work and would not return her calls or text messages.

The woman said that she had two other contractors come over to evaluate the shower and was told by both of them that the tile work would need to be torn out and redone.

On Jan. 27, District Judge Michael Fritz issued a stay of adjudication and placed Solberg on supervised probation for five years. Successful completion of probation will result in a dismissal.

Solberg was ordered to pay restitution of $2,120 to the victim, and to pay $500 in court fees.

Krystal Colleen Koehnen, 33, of Detroit Lakes has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony mail theft.

According to court records, a Becker County woman reported that on Jan. 14, a package was delivered to her mailbox by the U.S. Postal Service. Later that day, a Dodge pickup stopped and a woman got out and stole the package. The reporting party's security camera caught the theft that occurred around 6 p.m. The total value of items stolen was about $127. Koehnen was driving a Dodge pickup that day and is accused of carrying out the theft.

On Jan. 30, District Judge Michelle Lawson issued a summons, and Koehnen’s first appearance was set for Feb. 2 via remote technology.