A 34-year-old Albertville man will make his first court appearance Thursday, June 22 on murder charges stemming from an arson in Chisago County.
The man, identified in court records and county information as Dallas Raymond Evenstad, allegedly set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s father’s home on June 4, 2023. The man later succumbed to burns on 80 to 90 percent of his body, leading to the murder charge. Another woman, who was sleeping in the home with the man, had severe burns to her hands, arms and other parts of her body.
Chisago County Attorney Janet Reiter announced earlier this month Evenstad, 34, has been charged with Murder in the Second Degree and First Degree Assault in connection with an intentional setting of a fire at the residence of the victims in Fish Lake Township in Chisago County, MN on June 4, 2023.
According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement personnel from the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office and surrounding agencies were called to a residence on the 400 block of Cambridge Drive in Chisago County in response to a fire in progress on June 4, 2023 at approximately 3:30 a.m. where a female with visible burns reported that the fire had been intentionally set by another individual who had entered the home.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home to see flames and heavy, dark smoke billowing from the home and made contact with the male victim who was on the ground, rolling in a blanket and screaming in pain, and who appeared to have severe burns on his entire body. The male victim reported that he had been sleeping in bed with the female victim when the defendant, whom he immediately identified as Dallas Evenstad, had come into his bedroom. The male victim reported that the Defendant threw gas on him and set him on fire.
The male victim was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center shortly after 2 p.m. on June 4, 2023 after succumbing to burns over 80 – 90 percent of his body, and soot in his airway.
An investigator with the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office spoke with the female victim in the hospital on June 4, 2023. She had extensive wounds to her legs, hands and feet consistent with second and third-degree burns. She told the investigator that she was asleep in bed when she woke up to the smell of gasoline and the sound of a man in the bedroom. She saw the defendant flick a lighter and then saw the male victim run out of the room. She immediately identified the man in her bedroom as Dallas Evenstad. The female victim was familiar with the Defendant because the Defendant had previously threatened the adult daughter of the male victim. She did not have a phone to call for help so she drove to a neighbor’s house.
The adult daughter of the deceased male arrived on scene and confirmed that the man identified by her father as the perpetrator of the fire is a long-time acquaintance. The adult daughter reported the Defendant threatened her in the past and was familiar with the layout of the home.
The defendant, Dallas Evenstad, is being charged by the Chisago County Attorney’s Office with Murder in the Second Degree and Assault in the First Degree Assault, both felonies. The Defendant made his first appearance in Chisago County District Court on June 8, 2023, and bail was set at $2,000,000.00 (Two Million Dollars). The next court appearance is scheduled for June 22, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in Chisago County District Court.