Scott Michael Aune, 61, of Winsted has been charged with two felonies following a June 30 traffic stop in Worthington.

The Nobles County criminal complaint states that at approximately 1:47 a.m. on June 30,        Worthington Police Officer Bryant Schroeder saw a vehicle approaching a roundabout at a      high rate of speed. He observed the driver slam on the vehicle’s brakes as it reached the        roundabout, and that both the driver and passenger were reclined in their seats. Schroeder    followed the vehicle, observed it as it crossed over the center dashed line, and initiated a   traffic stop.

The complaint indicated Schroder identified the driver as Aune, and the passenger as Michael Joseph Fadel III. Schroeder noted both the driver and passenger were acting nervous, and that Aune’s pupils were very pinpoint, and his carotid artery was pronounced and pulsating rapidly.

During field sobriety tests, Aune swayed side to side and forward to back. Schroeder took Aune’s pulse, which was approximately 120, which the complaint stated is abnormally high for someone not actively involved in intense physical activity. Aune’s eyes did not have any pupil dilation or constriction.

Schroeder asked Aune if there was anything illegal in the vehicle, which the complaint indicated was due to the occupants’ nervous behavior, and multiple air fresheners in the vehicle.

Aune denied having anything illegal in the vehicle, but stated “my buddy may have some pot.” Aune gave Schroeder permission to search the vehicle.  While doing so, Schroeder found a blue duffel bag containing a white pill container that had approximately eight “M30″ pills inside.  A pill bottle missing the prescription label was found to contain 20 additional “M30″ pills. Inside a black duffle bag, Schroeder located another prescription pill bottle without a label containing approximately 174 additional “M30″ pills. Schroeder believed the pills were counterfeit oxycodone pills, but were in fact fentanyl.

Hidden under the carpet in the trunk, Schroeder found a blue bank bag with $715 in cash in it, divided into stacks, each with a sticky note on it, with 03/10/2023 written on them. Schroeder also found $646 on Aune’s person, and four cell phones, which were seized.

Aune and Fadell were arrested and transported to the Nobles County Jail, where they were booked and held for court. At the jail, Aune stated “All the drugs in the car were mine.”

Aune was charged with 1st degree drug sales, a felony, which has a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment and/or a $1,000,000 fine. He was also charged with 2nd degree drug possession, a felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years imprisonment and/or a $500,000 fine.

Aune is listed as unsentenced, and remains in the Nobles County Jail, according to the Friday, July 14 jail roster.

UPDATED: 4:03 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2023 

BCA statement released Friday

The BCA just released its statement on Monday’s shooting incident in Winsted.

The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the man who died during a standoff with police on Monday, Jan. 23 in Winsted. Daniel Mark Paul, 50, of Winsted died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has confirmed the identities of the two McLeod County deputies shot during the incident. Both were shot in their protective gear. Neither sustained significant injury.

• Darrell Caturia has almost eight years of law enforcement experience.
• Angie Malz has 24 years of law enforcement experience.

Deputies Caturia and Malz went to Paul’s home on Jan. 23 to serve a warrant for possession of child pornography. After entering the home, they learned Paul was in a bedroom with the door closed. Paul refused to open the door and respond to the search warrant.  As Deputy Caturia forced open the door, he was met with gunfire that struck both deputies. Caturia drew his department handgun and attempted to return fire, but his weapon did not discharge. They left the home and the standoff began. It lasted several hours and ended when police found Paul had died.

BCA crime scene personnel recovered two pistols and an assault rifle next to Paul’s body. Both Caturia and Malz were wearing body cameras which captured portions of the incident. BCA agents are reviewing that footage. It supports Caturia’s account that he attempted to return fire but his gun did not discharge. The video will be made public once the case is closed and fully adjudicated.

The McLeod County Sheriff’s Office asked the BCA to investigate the incident. Once the investigation is complete, the BCA will present its findings without recommendation to the McLeod County Attorney’s Office for review.

Photo by Austen Neaton
Two McLeod County Sheriff’s Office deputies were shot at approximately 11:30 a.m. Monday in Winsted after trying to serve warrants on a suspect at a residence. The law enforcement presence in the area quickly ramped up.

Two McLeod County deputies shot attempting to serve warrants in Winsted Monday

The situation started at approximately 11:35 a.m. Monday, Jan. 23 when two McLeod County sheriff’s deputies, Angela Malz and Darrell Caturia, were attempting to serve a felony arrest warrant related to 10 counts of alleged child pornography at 664 Pheasant Run in Winsted.

The criminal complaint identifies the suspect as Daniel Mark Paul, 50. Records show he has been a Winsted resident since 2014.

In a statement issued Thursday, McLeod County Sheriff Tim Langenfeld said the deputies made contact and were able to enter the residence at which time they were struck by gunfire. They were able to retreat. Additional deputies and other agencies responded and took over the incident. Deputies Caturia and Malz were transported to a hospital where they were treated and released.

Meanwhile the suspect had barricaded himself inside the home while several other agencies’ personnel arrived at the scene including police officers, sheriff’s deputies, Minnesota BCA staff, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) personnel, and Wright County Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team members.

Attempts to contact the suspect by phone throughout the afternoon were unsuccessful. During this time, an additional search warrant was secured.

Paul was not responding to crisis negotiators but had communicated to his daughter that “he was not going to go to jail,” the warrant application states.

Family members also told McLeod County Detective Matt Rolf the suspect had an AR-15 rifle, a 40 mm pistol, and a .22 caliber “kids rifle,” along with “close to or over” 100 rounds.

Rolf requested a no-knock nighttime search warrant because the suspect firing his gun made it “not safe for [the suspect], or law enforcement, to be required to knock and announce prior to making entry to this property” and because law enforcement anticipated the situation extending past 8 p.m., the cutoff for daytime warrants.

At approximately 6 p.m., a bomb robot was used to gain entry into the home and a drone with a camera revealed a deceased adult male.

Area residents were allowed to return to their homes Monday evening when the incident has ended.

Photo by Herald Journal staff                                                                                                                             The home at 664 Pheasant Run where a suspect barricaded himself in after shooting and injuring two McLeod County Sheriff’s deputies the morning of Jan. 23.

This week’s newspaper report

Here is the original newspaper story in this week’s Herald Journal which went to press Wednesday evening before additional information became available.

By Andrew Meuleners, Editor

As this newspaper went to press, authorities had yet to release an official statement with details about the standoff in Winsted Monday, pending their investigations.

Updates are posted to herald-journal.com as information is released and confirmed.

The suspect Daniel Mark Paul, 50, was found dead in a Winsted home Monday following an hours-long standoff that began after two deputies were shot while executing warrants allegedly related to 10 counts of child pornography, McLeod County Sheriff Tim Langenfeld said.

Records show Paul was a Winsted resident since 2014.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) public information officer Bonney Bowman informed the Herald Journal that its official statement about the incident would be coming Thursday, Jan. 26, after the medical examiner’s office had conducted its identification of the suspect and determination of the cause of death.

All other agencies were waiting for that official statement to be made before issuing further statements.

The situation started at approximately 11:30 a.m. and escalated quickly. As a result, the City of Winsted asked residents to “avoid all vehicle and foot traffic” in the area of Linden Avenue East and Pheasant Run “until further notice.”

Langenfeld said the deputies were inside the home when they were hit by bullets and managed to escape. Langenfeld confirmed that the suspect then barricaded himself inside the home at 664 Pheasant Run.

The area was surrounded by police officers, sheriff’s deputies, Minnesota BCA staff, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) personnel, and Wright County Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team members.

There was a daycare within 150 yards of the incident, so the SWAT team escorted the children out in armored vehicles and to city hall, where parents were told to pick them up. Residents in other homes around the suspect’s house were evacuated or told to shelter in place.

“It’s kind of nerve-wracking because it’s so close to daycare where I have two kids, and she’s got 11 kids. So I’m sure all the parents are kind of worried and wondering what’s going on now,” Tom Ulrich, Winsted resident, said to reporters at the scene.

In a midday statement to reporters, Langenfeld said authorities would take things at a slow pace. “We’re going to take it slow. Continue to attempt to contact. Use the different resources we have available to us, and see what we can come up with.”

By early evening, law enforcement used a bomb robot and drone technology from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office to enter the house and found the man dead in a bedroom.

“They have a robot that was able to open the door,” Langenfeld said. “Flew some drones inside the residence. We were able to get the robot inside the residence. Able to open the door, fly through the house, and secure the residence that way. Much safer for everybody than sending in personnel.”

The deputies injured in the incident were taken to a nearby hospital. Both deputies have been released and are home with their families.

“Obviously, this isn’t the outcome we wanted for anybody since there is another family here hurting right now. But from our standpoint with the families that are involved, it’s good news,” Langenfeld said.
Public identification of the deputies involved was also awaiting release of the BCA’s formal statement.

Area residents were allowed to return to their homes Monday evening when the incident has ended.

Ten charges were filed against the suspect

According to the official complaint in McLeod County District Court, in November 2021 as part of a child pornography investigation, Winsted police officers executed a search warrant for electronic devices and electronic storage devices at the defendant’s residence at 664 Pheasant Run, Winsted.

“The defendant and his wife were present in the home at the time of the execution of the warrant. Thirteen total items were seized, including cell phones, computers, and electronic storage devices. The devices were then turned over to the MN BCA for forensic examination. The MN BCA identified three electronic devices seized during the search warrant that contained suspected child pornography,” the complaint stated.

The evidence was reviewed and 10 specific images were selected for prosecution, each involving a minor female “obviously under the age of 14 years,” according to the complaint.

The defendant was identified as the registered owner of laptop computers and micro SD cards containing the images, corresponding with user accounts, an email address, and other documents all connected to the defendant.

The Winsted Fire Department received a call to the city’s Security Bank & Trust Wednesday afternoon, due to a smell of smoke within the building. The department responded quickly, evacuated people from the building, and then swept it to determine what might be causing the issue. Winsted Police Chief Justin Heldt said no source of fire or smoke was found.