A Bemidji woman is facing charges of aiding an offender of first degree assault, the first charges in court for an incident early Sunday morning near Wilton.
According to the criminal complaint filed Monday, 30-year-old Rebecca Lockman is accused of assisting her boyfriend, 37-year-old Travis Gunning of Gully, evade persecution.
Early Sunday morning, at 12:34 a.m., Beltrami County deputies, Bemidji firefighters and Bemidji medical personnel responded to the 11,000 block of Trengove Rd. NW, near Wilton.
A house was fully engulfed in flames, and they found a male, identified as B.M., who had multiple gunshot wounds.
B.M. told investigators that he had arrived home and came across two people in a dark car. He said they then fired at him, with B.M. returning fire. B.M. also stated that his roommate, J.M., was unaccounted for.
The deceased male found inside the home matched the description of J.M. and had what appeared to be a bullet wound to the head. A formal autopsy is still underway for positive identification.
Deputies found a cell phone, which was traced to Gunning. A vehicle matching the one previously described was found at the address in Gully, with a bullet strike on it.
Gunning’s father indicated to law enforcement that a .22 caliber pistol and an SUV were missing from the property.
Deputies then interviewed a witness, who said that Lockman texted him to “get up” and he was then picked up by Gunning and Lockman in Fosston. Witness 1 observed a gunshot wound to the foot, which Gunning explained was from a “deal gone bad.”
Another witness (Witness 2) told deputies that Lockman called law enforcement to assist Gunning with his injury, in Minot, North Dakota.
Lockman and Gunning were both found in an SUV in Minot, North Dakota. Gunning is currently in the Minot hospital recovering from a gunshot wound.
A warrant was issued today for Lockman’s arrest. Minot law enforcement, at press time, had her in custody.
A complaint and warrant were filed against Gunning Tuesday. Read more about it here.
