24 August 2023
Ryan Sheak returned to his job as a White Bear Lake police officer this month after taking bullets to the stomach, pelvis and leg fired by Daniel Loren Holmgren Jr. on Jan. 24.
On Wednesday, seven months to the day later, Holmgren was in a Ramsey County courtroom in downtown St. Paul to receive his 19-year prison term for shooting Sheak and firing at Sgt. Eric Gadbois and Officers Phonvelai Sorenson and Connor Dillon in his White Bear Lake apartment, where they were trying to serve him with an arrest warrant.
Sorenson was the only officer of the four at Holmgren’s sentencing, but chose not to speak. Sorenson, who was two months on the job at the time of the shooting, asked Police Chief Julie Swanson to read her victim impact statement, saying her decision not to speak was not because she feared Holmgren, “but because he isn’t worth my time anymore.”
“He has already consumed so much of my life these past seven months, and it is finally time for me to take control of my life again,” Sorenson’s statement read. “This is me taking back my control.”
In June, the 33-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and three counts of first-degree assault on a peace officer. His 19-year term was determined as part of a plea agreement; the statutory maximum is 20 years.
“The agreement reflects the severity of the conduct,” Zachary Van Cleve, an assistant public defender representing Holmgren, said to Judge DeAnne Hilgers before she handed down the sentence. “It also reflects Mr. Holmgren’s more or less immediate desire to accept responsibility for that conduct.”
Holmgren, who has a history of mental illness and civil commitments, was well known to White Bear Lake police because of several past encounters. Court records say he’s been diagnosed as having bipolar disorder with symptoms of mania, antisocial personality disorder and intermittent explosive disorder.
“Before the pretrial, I spoke with Mr. Holmgren’s mother and she said that the police department has been just a godsend for them for a long time,” Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Andrew Johnson told the judge. “That was the word that she used.”
Johnson said he hopes Holmgren realizes a couple things: “One is he’s lucky to be alive. And two, that he hurt people who for a long time tried to help him. So I hope that he is able to deal with some of the issues he has going on and that nothing like this ever happens again.”
‘Can still hear his voice’
The four officers arrived at Holmgren’s apartment complex in the 3100 block of Karth Road about 8:30 p.m. to arrest him on a warrant in an open 2021 case. The warrant was issued six days before the shooting after Holmgren missed a Ramsey County court hearing on charges alleging he threatened to kill his mother, shoot a White Bear Lake officer and assault the officer’s family.
Daniel Loren Holmgren Jr. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Holmgren was in his bedroom with the door closed and refused to come out. He was belligerent, yelling loudly at the officers and telling them that he was “ready to die,” the charges say.
“I can still hear his voice screaming at us, threatening to kill us and saying he had plenty of bullets for each of us,” Sorenson said in her victim impact statement. “I can remember having to pull his mom out of the apartment as (the other officers) tried to reason with him to come out peacefully.”
After several minutes, Holmgren began firing a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun through the bedroom door, striking Sheak, a SWAT negotiator, three times.
“I wanted so badly to run into that apartment and help where I was needed,” Sorenson said. “Waiting in that hallway for someone to come out or yell for me felt like an eternity.”
Dillon and Gadbois returned fire before pulling a critically injured Sheak from the apartment.
“As they pushed the door open, the first thing I saw was blood,” Sorenson said. “In that moment my heart dropped and all other emotions drained from my body.”
Sorenson said stripping Sheak of his uniform to see his wounds and then walking him out of the hallway and “feeling him squeeze my hand tightly was one of the scariest feelings ever.”
Holmgren was not struck by the officers’ gunfire and remained in the apartment over the next several hours. During the stand-off, Holmgren continued to threaten to kill law enforcement officers. He surrendered after tear gas was sent into his apartment.
After emergency surgery, Sheak spent eight days in the hospital. The 39-year-old grew up in White Bear Lake and joined the police department in 2017. He is married with three children.
‘A dark day for us’
Holmgren chose not to speak at his sentencing.
Afterward, Swanson said in an interview outside the courtroom that Sheak is “doing well” and healed from his injuries. “They’re lasting,” she said, “but he’s healed.”
Officer Ryan Sheak (Courtesy of the White Bear Lake Police Department)
She said it was a “dark day for us, but it could have been a whole lot worse, so we’re fortunate that it wasn’t. But it was the reality, with all the police-related incidents and how much more serious they became. And we’re thankful that we have all of our people. But they’re impacted for life.”
Swanson’s last day with the police department is Friday, when she retires after 23 years of service, the last nine as chief.
“I’m glad to have it put to rest,” she said of Holmgren’s case. “We’ve spent a lot of time trying to work with him, with the family. His mom has always been cooperative with us. And so we’re glad to have this resolved for her, and for us.”
Related Articles
St. Paul man charged with setting off pipe bomb, damaging 2 vehicles; said he was ‘livid’ over dad’s ‘desecrated’ ashes
Armed robber and armed victim both injured in St. Paul gunfight, police say
Murder charge dismissed against Woodbury teen in North St. Paul gun heist
Suspect goes on trial for shooting that killed 3, injured 2 in St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen
Shooting death of California shop owner over pride flag still under investigation