Man Charged After 40+ Hour Standoff in Saint Michael
SAINT MICHAEL—Brandon Gardas--the suspect in a 44-hour long standoff in Saint Michael last week--has been charged with two counts of 1st-degree attempted murder of a peace officer, two counts of 1st-degree assault, threats and several other charges, according to Wright County officials.
Gardas was airlifted to a hospital last Wednesday after being shot by police during the standoff, which stretched from early Tuesday through Wednesday evening. Gardas is accused of firing multiple rounds toward officers on multiple occasions during the ordeal, though no officers were injured.
PREVIOUSLY: Suspect in Custody After Saint Michael Standoff
According to a criminal complaint filed in court Monday:
On June 21, 2022, the Wright County Emergency Response Team (ERT) developed a plan to apprehend Gardas, who had two outstanding warrants for his arrest in connection with separate Wright County cases where he was charged with possession of a firearm by an ineligible person.
In those cases, Gardas had missed court and violated his release conditions, resulting in the warrants. He had previously evaded law enforcement during attempts to apprehend him on the warrants. On June 20, 2022, Gardas was involved in an incident at his home located on the 500 block of Central Ave. W. in Saint Michael, during which he had an altercation with his pastor.
During the incident with his pastor, Gardas allegedly pulled out a firearm and waved it at the pastor, documents said. Law enforcement also learned Gardas had assaulted his wife on June 21. Due to the warrants for his arrest and his escalating behavior, law enforcement made the decision to apprehend him at his property.
Law enforcement officers obtained a search warrant for the property and had information Gardas was in possession of a high-powered assault rifle. Authorities decided to use the 'Contain and Call Out' method of executing the warrant, consisting of a technique of surrounding the property and containing the location before contacting the suspect.
The Gardas property is close to County Road 35 and the surrounding neighborhood includes residential homes, businesses, apartment complexes and an elementary school. Summer school and summer activities were occurring at the nearby elementary school, according to the documents, and the ERT commander called the Saint Cloud Police Department SWAT Team to assist with several armored vehicles.
At about 4:20 p.m. on June 21, the armored vehicle convoy that included Wright County ERT members and the Saint Cloud SWAT Team were positioned at the Gardas property. Audible commands were given at 4:30 p.m. for the occupants of the residence to exit.
Police officers on perimeter after a man fired shots in a Saint Michael neighborhood Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Submitted photo
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Law enforcement was aware the home was occupied by Gardas and his 13-year-old son. His wife and other children were not present in the home. Commands for the occupants to exit the home were continuously repeated with no response, the documents said.
At 5:10 p.m. warnings were delivered in five-minute intervals advising the occupants that chemical agents would be deployed and delivered to the home if they did not exit. At 5:26 p.m. law enforcement decided to breach the front door to allow an avenue of escape for anyone inside the home.
After multiple announcements and with no one exiting the home, the decision was made to breach the exterior of the home with a DRACO head breaching tool attached to an armored vehicle. The DRACO has a high-pressure air unit that assists in the delivery of chemical agents throughout a structure. At 5:48 p.m. the DRACO tool was used to breach the residence and a chemical agent was deployed.
At 6:03 p.m. Gardas’ 13 year-old son exited the residence and was secured by law enforcement.
Officers continued to deploy chemical agents into the residence. At 6:58 p.m. Gardas called Wright County dispatch stating he was going to start firing at police officers. He then allegedly threatened law enforcement by saying the police officers needed to back up or he was going to start shooting.
Law enforcement did not back up and Gardas then began firing a gun from inside the residence. A Humvee vehicle being utilized by the Saint Cloud SWAT Team was hit by several gunshots fired by Gardas and was occupied by several officers.
At 7:05 p.m. Gardas allegedly fired a gun at an additional armored vehicle belonging to the Saint Cloud SWAT Team. A deputy inside the vehicle’s turret reported he heard a “ting” and saw a flash on the side of the turret a few inches from his head consistent with a bullet hitting the metal. Later and at a safe location, ERT members inspected the armored vehicle and saw a bullet hole through the loud-speaker and a bullet hole in the armor of the turret.
At 8:06 p.m. law enforcement established phone contact with Gardas, who threatened the surrounding neighborhood and said if officers did not back up, he would fire 90 rounds of ammunition into the nearby neighborhood.
On June 21, 2022, at 9:39-9:41 p.m. Gardas allegedly fired 12 rounds at an armored vehicle and appeared to have come from a semi-automatic firearm.
Police officers on perimeter after a man fired shots in a Saint Michael neighborhood Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Submitted photo
The command was given for the ERT to begin “tactically dismantling the residence” by removing exterior windows and portions of the home to develop a better sight line and to assist with locating Gardas in the residence, the documents said.
Officers kept making loud-speaker announcements that Gardas was under arrest and commanded him to exit the residence. The tactical dismantling of the residence began at 9:07 p.m. and continued until the morning of June 22, 2022.
During that time, chemical agents continued to be delivered into the residence and officers made repeated attempts to negotiate Gardas, but he refused to surrender. At 1:36 a.m. on June 22, Xcel Energy terminated power to the residence.
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At approximately 7 p.m. on June 22, a determination was made for law enforcement to enter the residence to apprehend Gardas. Several officers from the Wright County Sheriff's Office, Saint Cloud Police Department and Stearns County Sheriff's Office entered the residence.
Gardas was located in a room hiding under blankets, the court documents said, and was in possession of a black rifle. Officers struck Gardas with a non-lethal 40 mm foam baton round and he ran to another area of the home while holding the rifle.
When officers were in the home, Gardas allegedly shot at them at least once. He made it to the top of some stairs and, after multiple commands to to put his hands up and surrender, Gardas then opened fire at members of the Saint Cloud Police Department SWAT team.
Gardas was then struck by a bullet in the upper chest by an officer who returned fire. After being shot, Gardas refused to cooperate or comply with commands from law enforcement and was still in the entryway of the residence with a handgun nearby. Officers used a non-lethal 40 mm round from a foam baton and tased Gardas before they were able to arrest him.
A search of the home following Gardas’ arrest led to the recovery of the following firearms:
Palmetto State Armory AK-47
A Russian-made AK-47 Saiga
A Narico Chinese-made AK-47
A Palmetto AR-15
An Aero Precision AR-15
A Remington 870 Express Magnum shotgun
A 9mm handgun
A Glock Model 17 9mm handgun
A Smith & Wesson 22 caliber revolver
A 223 Palmetto AR-15 rifle (recovered from kitchen island)
A 556 M-4 carbine rifle (recovered from upstairs bedroom)
A Sig Sauer 9mm handgun (recovered next to Gardas when apprehended, loaded with a round in the chamber)
More than 12,400 rounds of various caliber ammunition
Three components for AR-15 style firearms
Eight Ballistic Kevlar panels, an outer vest and a ballistic helmet.
During a search of the residence, law enforcement located 324 grams of marijuana in plant form, 26.2 grams of marijuana wax and 72.6 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, all of which were possessed by Gardas, court documents said.
Gardas was convicted of controlled substance crime in the 3rd-degree, a crime of violence, from 2004 making him ineligible to possess a firearm or ammunition.
Gardas made his first court appearance Monday morning, when a judge set his bail at $10 million without conditions or $5 million with conditions.
PREVIOUSLY: Suspect in Custody After Saint Michael Standoff
