A Cloquet man is being held at the Carlton County Jail for allegedly firing a pistol into a house on the Fond du Lac Reservation.
Nicholas Joseph Ammesmaki was arrested Monday, Nov. 9, and charged with second degree assault with a dangerous weapon and two other felonies following an incident Friday, Nov. 6, on the Fond du Lac Reservation.
According to the criminal complaint, members of the Fond du Lac Tribal Police Department and Cloquet Police Department responded to a residence on the reservation.
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The reporting party said he had been at the house visiting his cousin, who lives in the home. He was standing outside the house smoking a cigarette and Ammesmaki walked up to him and asked what his name was.
The person recognized Ammesmaki from when they attended school together. When he provided his name, Ammesmaki pulled out a pistol and began firing at the man.
He ran in the side door of the house and yelled for his cousin and her 3-year-old child to get down. They stayed hidden in the house for hours and then left the area fearing for their safety.
Responding officers found five bullet holes in the sidewall of the home and saw that bullets struck a loveseat, a toilet and a wall in the living room. Two other rounds traveled through the residence and out the other side.
Officers performed a lineup with the reporting party identifying Ammesmaki as the shooter. The party said gang affiliation was a potential motivation.
Ammesmaki was charged with one count of second degree assault with a dangerous weapon that carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison or a $14,000 fine or both. He also is charged with the intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety, which has a maximum sentence of two years and a $5,000 fine.
Ammesmaki is prohibited from possessing firearms because of a previous second degree assault conviction in 2012, and was charged with an additional count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison or a $30,000 fine or both.
