Apr 01, 2008 - 04:05:04 CDT
A South Dakota man faces three felony charges for an alleged rampage at a Bismarck gas station.Tyler Kraft, 20 of Timber Lake, S.D., was charged Monday with Class Cfelony charges of terrorizing, criminal mischief and unlawful entry to a motor vehicle.
South Central District Judge Tom Schneider set bond for Kraft at $5,000 cash.
Kraft faces a minimum prison sentence of two years if convicted of the terrorizing charge because of allegations that he used a shovel as a weapon.
Bismarck Police Sgt. Mark Buschena said officers were called to Country West Conoco, 2205 Tyler Parkway, at 3:10 a.m. Saturday for a report of a man threatening two other men with a shovel.
A 25-year-old Bismarck man told officers he saw a man carrying a large yellow snow shovel down the street, and the man tried to get him to stop. The 25-year-old man continued on to the Conoco station, where he was planning on visiting his friend, a 32-year-old Bismarck man, Buschena said.
The 25-year-old pulled into the gas station, and the man with the shovel, later identified as Kraft, approached him with the shovel raised, Buschena said. He said the two men went inside the business and watched as Kraft hit the 32-year-old man's vehicle, breaking two windows and damaging a window frame, then climbed into the vehicle and turned on the lights.
Buschena said Kraft also is accused of smashing a gas pump and breaking two full-size glass doors at the gas station with the shovel. Total damages are estimated at more than $10,000, he said.
Kraft, who police described as intoxicated, was taken to a hospital for evaluation, then was taken to jail.
Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Cynthia Feland told Schneider that Kraft made several odd statements to officers, including one about he and another man being the only two people left on earth. Officers thought he might be under the influence of a substance other than alcohol, she said.
Kraft said he is attending college full time in Bismarck. He will be subject to random drug and alcohol testing if released on bond.
Kraft also pleaded guilty Monday morning to minor in possession in Bismarck Municipal Court. Judge William Severin sentenced him to two days in jail, all suspended, and one year of unsupervised probation. It was Kraft's second minor in possession conviction.
(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)
Jack Hoff wrote on Oct 28, 2008 7:41 PM:
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