A visitor fled into a home after a man pointed a shotgun with a green laser at his head, according to a criminal complaint. Police responded around 2:44 a.m. Sept. 15 to Belsly Boulevard in Moorhead.
Prosecutors charged Troy Daniel Sorenson, 41, of Gardner, North Dakota, with felony firearm possession by an ineligible person and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing a switchblade.
Officers found two men near vehicles in a parking lot. Sorenson matched the caller’s description and was holding what appeared to be a firearm, the complaint says. Both men followed commands to get on the ground.
Police recovered a loaded Citadel Boss-25 semiautomatic shotgun leaning against a vehicle next to Sorenson. The shotgun had a green laser sight. Officers also found an automatic switchblade in his pocket.
The visitor told police he was returning from a garage when he heard something drop and someone tell him to wait. He said Sorenson stepped out of a black pickup and pointed the shotgun at him. After running inside, the visitor said he saw Sorenson near the garage pointing the gun into the house.
A woman who lived there told officers she heard a commotion and let the visitor inside. He told her someone had pointed a gun at him, but she did not witness it.
The other man detained by police said Sorenson woke him and warned that people were outside shining lights and looking into windows. He told officers he had not seen anyone outside before police arrived. He initially denied knowing whether Sorenson had a gun, then acknowledged seeing it.
Sorenson told officers he believed people circling the residence were trying to rob it. He said he retrieved the shotgun to remove a laser sight he wanted back after selling the gun to his friend. He denied pointing it at anyone.
The firearm charge alleges Sorenson was prohibited from possessing a gun because of a prior conviction. The complaint cites prior North Dakota drug convictions.
