Man sentenced to 19 years for shooting White Bear Lake officer

Emily Baude KSTP

Man sentenced to 19 years for shooting White Bear Lake officer

A 33-year-old man was sentenced in Ramsey County court on Thursday in connection with the shooting of a White Bear Lake police officer.

Daniel Loren Holmgren Jr., of White Bear Lake, was sentenced by Judge DeAnne Hilgers to 19 years in prison for a standoff with law enforcement that left an officer injured.

In June, Holmgren pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree attempted murder and three counts of first-degree assault and use of deadly force against a peace officer in exchange for his sentence.

On Jan. 4, 2023, officers from the White Bear Lake Police Department went to the 3100 block of Karth Road in White Bear Lake with a warrant to arrest Holmgren, who was wanted for felony domestic assault.

Court records show that Holmgren hadn’t shown up for a previous court appearance in connection with the domestic assault charge.

During the execution of the warrant, a family member let four police officers inside the apartment, where they learned Holmgren was in his room with the door shut. Law enforcement spoke to Holmgen through the door and reported that Holmgren was belligerent, refused to come out, and told officers he was ready to die.

Holmgren then fired a gun multiple times from his bedroom door, according to a criminal complaint. Officer Ryan Sheak was hit in the leg, stomach, and pelvis before law enforcement returned fire and left the apartment.

Officers say a standoff followed the shooting, with additional agencies responding to the scene. During this time, Holmgren reportedly continued to threaten to kill police officers. Law enforcement evacuated the apartment before firing tear gas into Holmgren’s apartment.

Several hours later, Holmren surrendered and was arrested, the complaint added.

Law enforcement says they recovered a Smith and Wesson 9 mm M&P from the bathroom by Holmgren’s room.

Julie Swanson, White Bear Lake police chief, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reporter Eric Chaloux, “It’s been a traumatic time, pretty surreal, but good to have it wrapped up.” Swanson added that Officer Sheak has been back to work for a couple of weeks now, and the department is glad to have him back.

“It changed how we are as a department because it was a very dark day for us, fortunately everybody’s back, and we’re grateful to have them with us,” Swanson said. “All officers will always have some sort of impact from this incident, mentally, emotionally, physically, they are healing.”