ROSEAU, Minn.-A Roseau County deputy sheriff has been accused of "shooting up" a hunting cabin and burning the gun.
Joshua McGurran Olson, Roseau, was charged in Roseau County District Court with first-degree damage to property, a felony, and falsely reporting crime, a misdemeanor.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began investigating the 34-year-old on March 2 after a man reported his hunting cabin in rural Roseau County had been damaged when someone fired numerous .223 caliber rounds into it, according to a complaint.
The cabin owner told law enforcement he suspected Olson did it because they previously had a disagreement about "Olson's hunting party trespassing on his property" last fall.
Olson was questioned and "eventually admitted shooting up" the man's cabin and destroying the firearm by placing it in an outdoor woodstove, according to the complaint. He turned over charred fragments and the barrel of the gun to law enforcement.
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The cost to repair the cabin is $2,960, and the firearm replacement cost is between $600 and $800.
Olson also made a false claim to Roseau law enforcement that one of his personal firearms, a Winchester Rifle with a Swarovski Scope, had been stolen from his home, but he later recanted the claim and said he found the rifle, according to the complaint.
Olson faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine on the felony and 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine on the misdemeanor.
The 34-year-old has been placed on administrative leave, according to Roseau County Sheriff Steve Gust.
Marshall County Attorney Donald Aandal said he is handling the prosecution of the case to prevent a conflict of interest.
Olson's first court appearance is 11 a.m. June 9 in Thief River Falls before Judge Donna Dixon. He is being represented by attorney Jade M. Rosenfeldt of Moorhead.
