Cook County sheriff deputies talk to witnesses and begin to close down the building in the aftermath of a shooting on the second floor of the Cook County courthouse on Thursday, December 15. Daniel Schlienz, 42, of Grand Marais was taken into custody and has been charged with two counts of premeditated attempted first-degree murder. Schlienz’s mother, Ginger Berglund, frozen at the center of the chaos, fights back tears.
On December 19, at St. Louis County District Court, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson announced the charges related to a shooting at the Cook County courthouse on Thursday, December 15. Daniel Sidney Schlienz, 42, of Grand Marais has been charged with two counts of premeditated attempted first-degree murder.
Additional charges filed were one count of assault in the fourth degree, one count of possession of a dangerous weapon with ammunition within a courthouse, one count of obstructing arrest and one count of possession of a weapon by a felon.
The courthouse shooting occurred just after the conclusion of a jury trial in which Daniel Schlienz was a defendant. Schlienz faced two counts of third degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and one count of harassment and violation of a restraining order. At about 3:30 p.m., the jury had reached its verdict—Schlienz was found not guilty on one count of third degree criminal sexual conduct and guilty on another, as well as guilty on the other three charges. Judge Mark Munger accepted the verdict and excused the jury.
Schlienz was not taken into custody after the verdict because sentencing had not yet been determined. Because he was not convicted of the count which included force and coercion, it was likely that he would receive a stayed prison sentence. Considering the time he had served, it was likely that he would have been sentenced to two or three months of time to be served locally.
Also taken into consideration, according to a court spokesperson, was that Schlienz had been compliant with the restrictions of probation and had not had any new charges.
Shots fired at the courthouse
After the verdict was issued, things went terribly wrong. At approximately 4:20 p.m., Cook County Law Enforcement began receiving 911 calls reporting shots fired at the courthouse.
According to the statement of probable cause pieced together by Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Special Agent Jerome Koneczny, after the verdict Schlienz, his attorney, John Lillie, and Schlienz’s mother, Virginia “Ginger” Berglund, went to a small conference room near the Cook County attorney’s office. Schlienz reportedly said he heard Gregory Thompson, a subpoenaed witness in the trial, speak with County Attorney Tim Scannell, thanking him for his hard work on the case.
According to the report, defendant Schlienz left the conference room and walked toward the county attorney’s office, pulling out a .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol. He shot Thompson in his left leg as he was leaving the office. Schlienz then entered the county attorney’s office and shot County Attorney Scannell in the chest. That bullet travelled within two inches of his heart. The complaint states that Schlienz went back into the hallway and shot Thompson again.
Scannell sought cover in the office of Assistant County Attorney Molly Hicken, but the defendant pushed his way into that office. Schlienz’s mother also entered the office, attempting to stop the attack. There was a struggle as she, Hicken, and Scannell vied for the gun.
Sheriff Mark Falk said this is when Cook County Sheriff Deputy/Bailiff Gary Radloff entered the county attorney’s office and found the group struggling. Falk said Radloff was unable to use his duty weapon to stop the defendant because there was “no clear shot.” Radloff joined the effort to disarm the defendant and during the struggle, Scannell was shot again, in the upper thigh. The bullet narrowly missed Scannell’s femoral artery. At that point, Scannell left the office and Schlienz’s attorney John Lillie attended to his injuries in the hallway.
According to Sheriff Falk, Hicken and Radloff were able to disarm the defendant and Radloff drew his duty weapon to stop the attack. The complaint reports that Schlienz grabbed the weapon and fired shots with it. Hicken and Radloff gained control of the duty weapon and it was thrown outside of the office, onto the courthouse balcony.
Cook County Deputy Dave Gilmore responded to the courthouse and found Schlienz’s attorney attending to Scannell’s injuries. Deputy Gilmore entered the county attorney’s office and found the defendant on his elbows and knees on the floor while Deputy Radloff attempted to keep him pinned to the ground. State Trooper Chris Thostenson also arrived to assist in the arrest. Schlienz refused to cooperate as he was handcuffed and placed in the squad car and officers used a taser three times to subdue him.
Gunshot victims recovering
The courthouse was locked down as Cook County ambulances arrived and Scannell and Thompson were transported to North Shore Hospital. Scannell was taken by ambulance to Duluth immediately, arriving at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center at 8 p.m.
An emergency medical helicopter was called to transport Thompson. High winds hindered that flight and it was cancelled. Thompson was also transported by Cook County Ambulance to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center. He arrived at the Duluth hospital at 10 p.m.
Both men underwent surgery, according to Essentia Health spokeswoman Beth Johnson. Tim Scannell had been shot three times—in the chest, pelvis, and leg. He underwent surgery at 9 p.m. that evening and came through surgery well. At press time, Scannell was recovering well. He was released from the hospital on December 20 to begin his recuperation at home. At press time Scannell was not ready to talk to the News-Herald, but on a CaringBridge website, the family wrote, “He is looking great, but is understandably tired and resting. We are all very happy to have him back.”
Johnson said Greg Thompson also had three bullet wounds, two in the leg and one in the groin area. He underwent surgery on Friday, December 16 to remove a bullet that was lodged in his knee. Thompson was released from the hospital on December 20. He also declined to talk to the News-Herald, but his wife, Kathy Jo, said, “We’re home and we’re okay,” although it will be a long and painful recovery. She said he will be unable to bend the wounded knee for three months.
Deputy/Court Bailiff Gary Radloff, 70, was also injured in the struggle with Schlienz. He suffered a laceration to his hand. Assistant County Attorney Molly Hicken, 33, was also transported to Cook County North Shore Hospital in Grand Marais. Both court officers were treated and released.
Defendant says case “wrecked his life”
As ambulances transported the injured, Schlienz was booked into Cook County Jail where he was held until being transported to St. Louis County for arraignment on December 19. Despite being read his Miranda rights, Schlienz stated that he had obtained the pistol from his truck after the jury verdicts had been read. The criminal complaint stated that Schlienz said he was “upset and frustrated for being convicted of a crime he did not commit.”
The complaint reported that in an interview on December 15, Schlienz said his intention was to confront Scannell about the conviction, but when he heard Thompson thanking Scannell, he decided to shot him as he left Scannell’s office. He said he had a plan and intended to hurt Scannell if he was found guilty, but he did not intend to kill either Scannell or Thompson. He said he had no plan for escape and was thinking of suicide or being shot by a cop.
When Schlienz was booked into jail, the complaint said nine .25 caliber bullets were found in his pocket. The tips of six of the bullets appeared to have been altered with cross hatch marks. In another interview on Friday, December 16, Schlienz admitted that he had altered the tips of the bullets with a hacksaw but stated he had altered the bullets a year earlier. Schlienz reportedly said he used the altered bullets because he believed they would inflict greater damage.
In that December 16 interview, Schlienz reiterated his earlier statements and added that he decided to shoot Thompson after he heard him thanking Scannell for what he viewed as “wrecking my life.”
Schlienz was originally charged with third degree and fifth degree criminal sexual conduct, violating a restraining order and gross misdemeanor harassment in November 2006. He entered an Alford plea, which means that there are allegations that the defendant does not agree with but is entered to avoid jury trial.
With the Alford plea, there was discussion of a 120-day cap on jail time, but after completing the required pre-sentencing investigation, Schlienz was found to be “unamenable to outpatient treatment” and it was recommended that he be confined to the North East Regional Correctional Center (NERCC) for one year of inpatient treatment.
At his sentencing in February 2007, Schlienz sought to withdraw his Alford plea and asked to have a jury trial, stating, “I really do feel sorry for the way that these girls feel about this whole situation, and I wish that we could go to court, go to trial and bring the whole truth out for the world to see.”
Judge Kenneth Sandvik denied Schlienz’s request to withdraw his Alford plea. Schlienz appealed that decision with the State Appellate Office in August 2007, claiming that he should have been allowed to withdraw his Alford plea when his penalty was changed from 120 days to one year. That first appeal was denied in July 2008, but Schlienz persisted and a second appeal in January 2011 reversed the conviction and opened the door for the recent trial, which took place last week.
Many heroes at courthouse
After the shooting, the courthouse was secured with assistance of Minnesota State Patrol, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Border Patrol and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers and remained closed while the Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension (BCA) investigated the shooting. The courthouse reopened for business at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, December 20 after an early morning meeting for all county employees to give staff the chance to meet with representatives from law enforcement and a team from the county’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Schlienz’s attempted premeditated murder case has been turned over to the Minnesota Attorney General, which is normal in a case where county officials are involved, especially the county attorney. A joint press conference was held on Friday, December 16 at which Sheriff Falk noted, “There’s a lot of heroes in this case. We didn’t have a homicide.”
Falk credited the mother of the shooting suspect, the assistant county attorney and the bailiff with preventing something much more serious from occurring. He said defense attorney Lillie played an important role in helping save the county attorney’s life, as did David Beckwith and other First Responders. And, he thanked the other agencies for coming to assist. “We’re grateful to all who were involved and are taking this issue on,” he said.
At the press conference, a metro-area reporter asked Sheriff Falk to comment on Schlienz’s assertion that he had been “persecuted” by the county attorney. Falk replied, “There is nobody to blame here but Mr. Schlienz. The bottom line is Danny Schlienz made a poor decision.”
Schlienz faces up to 20 years in prison for each attempted murder charge. He will next appear in court in Grand Marais on January 10. It is not yet known if the case will be tried in Cook County, but Falk said cases are tried in the county where the crime took place whenever possible.
After the charges were announced on December 19, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said, “The shooting of a prosecutor and trial witness inside a courthouse strikes at the foundation of the pillars of justice.”
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