Man Sentenced After Police Say He Threatened Juveniles with Gun

A St. Louis Park man pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree assault, a felony, after police officers said he accused children of taking his children's candy on Halloween 2012 while holding a gun.

Orrin John Hager was sentenced to 120 days in the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility, according to District Court records. Judge Daniel H. Mabley also ordered Hager to pay a $500 fine, due Aug. 25.

Hager could be eligible for electronic home monitoring and work release after serving 30 days. He will be on probation for three years, according to court records.

According to the criminal complaint by St. Louis Park Police Officer Aaron Balvin: 

Officers were called to the area of 27th Street and Brunswick Avenue just after 9 p.m. Oct. 31 after someone reported hearing shots fired.

Police found a group of boys, who said a man drove up, yelled at them and accused them of stealing candy from his child. When the man pulled out a “long gun,” the boys ran away.

The boys described a man police stopped earlier in the evening for driving erratically. During that traffic stop, the driver, identified as Hager, told officers he was looking for “older kids” who had stolen candy from his child.

At his home, Hager told police officers he was angry someone had stolen candy from his child, so he got into his car—accompanied by his wife and two children—and went searching for the “kids” who were responsible for the theft, according to the complaint.

When he saw the group at 27th and Brunswick, he got out of his car to confront them, he told police. However, it appeared that none of them were taking him seriously and they were giving him “attitude,” he said, so he pulled a gun from his car, according to the criminal complaint.

Hager said he held the gun near his side, but never pointed or fired it. He said he got back into his car and followed one of the boys whom he thought had stolen the candy, then stopped the car, put the gun in his trunk and went home, according to the complaint.

Police arrested Hager and confiscated an unloaded AK-47. They later determined that the report of shots fired in the area was unrelated to the case.

WCCO said Hager’s attorney, whom the station did not name, said "his client never pointed a gun at anyone, but does regret the confrontation he had with the kids."

As part of his sentence, Hager must have psychological and psychiatric evaluations, attend anger management and cognitive skills training, take medication, continue with therapy and not use firearms.

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