Deadline Nears to Charge Cold Spring Homicide Suspect

One of the state's top criminal defense attorneys says extension of homicide charges in the shooting death of a Cold Spring officer is interesting.

The Stearns County Attorney’s Office asked to extend the hold on 34-year-old Ryan Michael Larson, the suspect accused of shooting and killing 31-year-old Cold Spring Officer Tom Decker.

The office requested a 24-hour extension, which was approved by Judge Vicki Landwehr. The deadline to charge Larson is noon Tuesday.

Authorities are still looking for the gun used to kill Decker this week.

Joe Friedberg says no one knows what prosecutors have but only what has been talked about publicly. And, he says, when the Stearns County Attorney received an extension to file charges against a man in custody for the homicide, it signaled possible problems with the case. Ryan Larson is in jail on suspicion of killing Officer Decker.

Friedberg tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the fact investigators are still apparently looking for the murder weapon is a big problem. And, Friedberg says, right now there presumably is no public information about an eyewitness or anyone who can place Ryan Larson at the scene of the shooting. Friedberg says, based on the facts made public so far, the case against Larson seems to be very circumstantial right now.

Friedberg says the prosecution could receive several extensions before filing homicide charges, but at some point the judge will start asking prosecutors why they need the extensions and that information will then be made public. Officer Decker was shot and killed outside Winners Bar in Cold Spring last Thursday night.

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