MINNEnews agenciesOLIS (news agencies) — A woman’s “illegal buying spree” armed a man with the high-powered firearms that he used to kill three Minnesota first responders during a standoff at a home where seven children were inside, federal authorities said Thursday.
The guns bought by Ashley Anne Dyrdahl included three AR-style semiautomatic rifles, including one with a device that doubles the rate of gunfire, and two semiautomatic pistols, court documents said. In addition, investigators found “a stockpile of fully loaded magazines as well as boxes with hundreds of additional rounds of ammunition” in the bedroom Dyrdahl and gunman Shannon Gooden shared, the indictment said.
Ashley Anne Dyrdahl, 35, of Burnsville, conspired with Gooden to illegally supply him with guns even though she knew that he was a convicted felon who could not legally possess them, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger said at a news conference.
Luger, who described the woman as Gooden’s “long-time live-in partner,” said her “illegal buying spree for Gooden demonstrates a reprehensible disregard for public safety and the law, and the consequences of this disregard for public safety are beyond comprehension.”
Dyrdahl was indicted on one count of conspiracy and five counts of making false statements during the purchase of a firearm. Luger said the charges carry maximum potential penalties of 15 years in prison.
She pleaded not guilty at her first appearance in federal court on Thursday, but was allowed to remain free without bail. She did not respond to reporters’ questions as she left the courthouse.
The chief federal defender for Minnesota, Katherian Roe, said her office probably wouldn’t decide about representing Dyrdahl for future proceedings until Friday.
Police Officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27, and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, 40, were slain during the Feb. 18 standoff in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville. Their memorial service two weeks ago drew thousands of law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics. Sgt. Adam Medlicott, 38, survived being shot while tending to the wounded.