Brainerd man faces charges in shooting death, abduction of woman and children

BRAINERD, Minn. — A 35-year-old Brainerd man accused of shooting another man to death and then abducting a pregnant woman and her children was arraigned Monday in Crow Wing County District Court.

Chad Aaron Aanerud was charged with multiple felonies, including second-degree murder with intent but not premeditated; second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony; first-degree criminal sexual conduct with penetration in fear of great bodily harm; five charges of kidnapping to facilitate a felony or flight; first-degree arson; two charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon; and theft.

Aanerud appeared on the charges Monday before Crow Wing County District Judge Charles Halverson and was assigned a public defender. The case was assigned to Crow Wing County District Judge Kristine DeMay.

Assistant Crow Wing County Attorney Janine LePage told Halverson the state would be asking for a $3 million bond with no conditions and not to assign a bond with conditions. She also asked the court to file a domestic abuse-no contact order against Aanerud.

LePage told the court Aanerud was on parole and on conditional release on two other court cases.

Asked if he would like to comment on the conditions of release, Aanerud asked how he was able to be charged with kidnapping as he claimed the kids were his.

A judge set bond at $3 million with no conditions, and prosecutors said they would seek to file a domestic abuse no-contact order against Aanerud.

Aanerud is due back in Crow Wing County District Court on Nov. 12.

According to the criminal complaint, at 1:50 a.m. Friday, law enforcement received a 911 call reporting Aanerud shot and killed Lyle Maske.

Law enforcement was directed to the location of Maske’s body at a home on the 15000 block of Loerch Road. Maske’s body was located on the driveway of a residence located east of his residence on Loerch Road.

Maske had a large amount of blood on his neck and chest and was not breathing. Rifle casings were found on the ground near his body, and he was observed to have apparent gunshot wounds.

Despite attempted lifesaving measures, Maske was pronounced dead at 2:19 a.m.

While officers were administering lifesaving measures, they observed the main dwelling on the 15000 block of Loerch Road was engulfed in flames. The home burned to the ground.

Nikkole Dobson and her four minor children lived at 15000 Loerch Road, in a building next to the main residence on the property that burned.

A woman living with Maske and his wife told law enforcement that shortly before the shooting, Dobson’s four minor children arrived at Maske’s residence and reported Aanerud was “robbing grandpa and grandma’s house” — referring to the residence on the 15000 block of Loerch Road.

The woman stated she and Maske decided to drive to the address on the 15000 block of Loerch Road, which is only a short distance away from Maske’s property, to see what was happening. She and Maske discussed bringing a firearm with them; however, Maske believed it might make the situation worse and chose not to bring a firearm.

The woman told officers she drove Maske to the 15000 Loerch Road property and dropped him off at the end of the driveway. She then returned to Maske’s residence to be with Dobson’s children.

She said about 10 minutes after dropping Maske off at the neighboring property, Aanerud showed up at Maske’s residence in a white van with Dobson in the vehicle’s front seat.

Aanerud was carrying a rifle and demanded the two women turn over the children. Aanerud forced his way into the residence, firing one or more rounds while demanding “his kids” and threatening to kill them.

Aanerud then forced Dobson and her four juvenile children into the vehicle at gunpoint and left the area at a high rate of speed.

Shortly after Aanerud left, the woman who lived with Maske went to the property on the 15000 block of Loerch Road, where she found Maske on the ground, lying on his right side with a large amount of blood on his chin and chest. She believed he was dead and called 911.

Following a significant search for the described van, an Amber Alert was issued at 7:20 a.m. Friday, and the van driven by Aanerud was located near Little Falls. Aanerud was placed under arrest by law enforcement, who said he smelled strongly of gasoline or another flammable substance at the time he was removed from the van.

Dobson and the four minor children were found in the van.

Dobson had physical injuries to her face, neck and upper chest area, consistent with having been physically assaulted. The children were found in the back of the van, along with 13 stolen firearms.

Law enforcement obtained statements from Dobson and the minor children.

Information obtained from Dobson and the children indicated that sometime after 9 p.m. on Oct. 31, Aanerud began arguing with Dobson on the porch of the building where Dobson and her children resided, which is within 50 feet of the property owner’s residence. The property owner and his wife were not home at the time.

Aanerud was demanding sex from Dobson, but she refused. Aanerud went inside the residence and grabbed a .45-caliber handgun, returned to the porch and told Dobson he would shoot her children if she didn’t have sex with him. Dobson complied, at which time, Aanerud sexually assaulted her.

Shortly thereafter, Dobson observed Aanerud dumping buckets full of gasoline or diesel on the property owner’s residence and taking firearms from the residence.

Dobson then woke her children and told them to run to Maske’s residence, which they did.

Thereafter, Maske arrived in the driveway, where there was a confrontation between Aanerud and Maske. Dobson said she heard a gunshot and saw Maske on the ground. Aanerud shot Lyle Maske with a rifle, the criminal complaint stated.

After he shot Maske, Aanerud said, “See (expletive), I told you ‘Shut up,’ ” according to the criminal complaint. Aanerud then told Dobson to get in the front seat of the van and threatened to kill her if she didn’t.

Aanerud then drove to Maske’s house, where he demanded the four minor children and fired at least one shot at or into Maske’s house. Once in the van, Aanerud drove off and at some point shortly after they left Maske’s home, Aanerud took the 14-year-old child’s cellphone and threw it out of the van.

After Aanerud was arrested, he provided a statement to law enforcement in which he said that he accidentally shot Maske with a rifle belonging to the property owner when Maske “stuck his nose” where it didn’t belong and confronted him as he was carrying firearms out of the property owner’s residence.

Aanerud also admitted to intentionally filling the property owner’s house with diesel fuel and starting the house on fire. Aanerud claimed the property owner’s wife wanted him to “stage a burglary” and then burn down the house for the insurance money. However, the property owners stated they did not have insurance on the residence.

Aanerud also admitted to going to the residence on the 14000 block of Loerch Road with Dobson, after shooting Maske, to get the four minor children and leaving the area after killing Maske.

Aanerud initially denied shooting any rounds at the 14000 block Loerch Road residence but later admitted to shooting a round off outside of the residence.

Aanerud stated the firearm used to kill Maske was still in the vehicle when it was seized by law enforcement, along with numerous other firearms.

Aanerud’s criminal history includes several convictions on felony charges, including third-degree criminal sexual conduct, improperly registering as a predatory offender, threats of violence, theft, and several instances of third-degree burglary.