Jan 8, 2008 11:03 am US/Central
2 Plead Guilty To Terrorizing Campers In BWCAW
TWO HARBORS, Minn. (AP) ―
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Under the plea agreements in Lake County District Court, the two men will testify against the other defendants and they must stay out of the Boundary Waters for three years. (File)
CBS
Two men who were part of a group that allegedly terrorized campers in
the Boundary Waters Canoe Area during a drunken shooting spree have
pleaded guilty to reduced charges and agreed to testify against the
four other defendants.
Casey James Fenske, 19, of Ely,
admitted Monday in Lake County District Court he fired about 50 shots
into the water from his .22-caliber handgun during the incident on
Basswood Lake on Aug. 7.
Fenske will serve at least nine
months in jail and three years probation. He was ordered to pay
restitution for damage he did to a water-level measuring station and
banned from the BWCA for three years.
Travis John Erzar, 20,
of Ely, will serve no jail time but will serve three years of
probation. He was also banned from the BWCA for three years. Lake
County Attorney Russ Conrow said Erzar was among the least culpable
defendants. He joined the incident well after it started, did not shoot
and claims to have not made any threats.
Three men and one
juvenile are also charged. The men have hearings Jan. 22. Conrow said
other plea agreements are possible but he expects much stiffer
sentences for some of them.
There was evidence the rampage
was fueled by resentment in the Ely area over the environmentalism that
led to the creation of the BWCA and its ban on motorized recreation in
most of the wilderness area.
As they drank beer and shot off
guns and fireworks, some defendants allegedly yelled such things as
"get the (expletive) off our (expletive) property," and "go home
(expletive) 'enox' tree-huggers." Erzar said "enox" is local slang for
"environmentally obnoxious," said his attorney, Richard Holmstrom.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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