Charges filed in rifle threat against snowplow driver

Talk about it

More...

• Man with rifle threatens late-night snowplower

Two felony charges were filed in Carlton County Court on Friday against a Cloquet man who threatened a late-night snowplow driver with a rifle.

Mark David Lassila, 50, was formally charged with one count of second-degree assault and one count of terroristic threats.

Judge Robert Macauly set Lassila's bond at $25,000, and Lassila has requested a public defender to represent him. His next court appearance will be a Rule 8 hearing in Sixth District Court in Carlton scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13.

At 12:55 a.m. Tuesday, Cloquet police responded to a call from a private snowplow driver who reportedly had been threatened while plowing the parking lot of the Lost Tavern in Cloquet. The plow driver stated that Lassila, who lives at 606 22nd Street, adjacent to the Lost Tavern, allegedly made an obscene gesture at him through the window of his home before later returning to the window with a rifle in his arms and then turning out the lights.

When the driver alerted police, two officers confronted Lassila in his home and confiscated a Remington 7400 Model 30.06 rifle from his residence. Lassila was then taken into custody and lodged at the Carlton County jail.

Tags: news, crimwe, breakingnews