At approximately 10:54 a.m. Thursday, the Mitchell Department of Public Safety received a report of a male subject who had made a threat involving a handgun. According to the caller, an adult male who had just made a comment about entering the business, located on the 800 block of W. Havens Avenue, with a gun, was in a vehicle in the business parking lot. According to the caller, the man wanted to talk to a woman at the business, but employees would not let the woman go outside. The threat was apparently made after the woman would not come outside.
Several Officers responded to the scene. The man was located inside a vehicle in the parking lot. Due to the nature of the call, Officers held the man at gunpoint and he was taken into custody with no further incident. No shots were fired and nobody was hurt during this incident.
As a result of this incident, 21-year-old Ethan resident, Lance Robert Bruske, date of birth 10-21-1997 was arrested for Stalking and for Placing a Threatening Telephone Call. A 9mm caliber handgun was found in Bruske’s vehicle when he was detained by Law Enforcement.
During this the nature of this incident, the 800 block of W. Havens Ave. was briefly closed to traffic, due to safety concerns. The South Dakota Highway Patrol assisted with this investigation.
Stalking and Placing a Threatening Telephone Call are both Class 1 Misdemeanors punishable by up to 1-year imprisonment in a county jail and/or a $2,000 fine.