On August 24, 2020 Sgt. Tom Kucala of the BLPD responded to the area of Lake Street, near the train tracks, where he observed a male sitting on a step leading to an apartment. Kucala spoke with the male who was highly intoxicated and smelled like burnt hair. Sgt. Kucala observed that most of the hair on his right arm had been burned off, and he had deep red burns from his armpit up to his elbow, where multiple layers of skin had been burned off.

Officers asked him what happened, and the male stated he was drinking at a bar where he met two males and hung out with them until bar close. He went up to their apartment after the bar closed and passed out almost immediately. He woke up to the males messing with him using a lighter and some sort of torch or aerosol can to burn him. He did not know why they did it.

Officer Hecht located the apartment and attempted to make contact with the occupants. Eventually the door was answered by a male he knew from prior contacts to be Dalton Hovdestad (Age 22 – Big Lake)

Hovdestad told Officer Hecht they tried to get someone out of the apartment who would not leave, but finally left. He stated a male followed them up from the bar. There were more people in the apartment earlier, but he was the only one left. They rolled the male out of bed and shoved him out of the residence. He stated they turned the lights on to “spook him” and held a lighter up to him and “flamed him.” He stated he did not use anything else with the lighter and he was the one holding the lighter up to the male’s arm.

Hovdestad allowed Officer Sinclair inside the apartment where he observed an orange and blue lighter. Hovdestad indicated that he had used the orange lighter.

Hovdestad was arrested and transported to the Sherburne County jail. Hovdestad was charged by criminal complaint with; Felony 3rd Degree Assault.