Convictions deferred for two suspects in Oakland explosion
Oct. 12—Two men charged in connection with an explosion in January that injured a third man have pleaded no contest to charges of being a party to possession of an improvised explosive and resisting or obstructing an officer.
Brandon Darrel Rolstad, 30, of Oakland, and Lyle Herman Kunert III, 36, of South Range, entered the pleas Thursday, Oct. 7, in Douglas County Circuit Court.
Both entered a deferred conviction agreement on the improvised explosive charges. They each received a $100 fine and were ordered to pay court costs for the obstruction charge.
Rolstad, Kunert and Jeffrey Robert Strenke, 32, of Luck, Wis., were charged following the Jan. 13 incident in which Strenke was injured at the Rolstad home on Jacksino Road.
According to the criminal complaints, Strenke was holding a device made of a pipe closed on one end and packed with gunpowder and wadding when it exploded. The blast amputated part of the second digit on his right hand, dislocated the third and fourth digits and displaced and partially degloved his thumb.
PREVIOUSLY: 3 Douglas County men face charges after improvised explosive injures 1 of them
The obstruction charges stem from the story Rolstad and Kunert made up to explain the injury. They had claimed, without evidence, that a shotgun shell exploded while they were welding a part for a small child's four-wheeler.
Charges against Strenke, who also faces a charge of possession of a short-barreled shotgun or rifle, are still pending. After appearing in court Monday, Oct. 11, his next court appearance was scheduled for Nov. 22.
