A Duluth man who poured gasoline inside a Brimson bait shop and tried to set it on fire was sentenced to 28.5 months in prison, the Saint Louis County Attorney’s Office said Monday.
Michael David Nelson Kunnari, 45, was sentenced by Judge Michelle Anderson for attempted first-degree arson, the office said in a news release. Anderson denied his request for a sentence without prison time and imposed the top of the guideline range, as prosecutors had asked. She also ordered $826.50 in restitution.
Under Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines, first-degree arson by someone with no criminal history carries a presumptive sentence of 41 to 57 months, according to the release. Because the arson attempt failed, the range was cut in half to 20.5 to 28.5 months.
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According to the release, Kunnari walked into the Brimson Sportsmen’s Corner bait shop on June 27, 2026, carrying a container of gasoline and confronted the owner about his past criminal convictions. He poured gasoline inside the business and tried to light a tissue with a lighter before the owner stopped him and chased him out of the building with a bat.
The release said the attack was motivated by the owner’s earlier convictions involving child sexual abuse material, a case the same office prosecuted.
“No one has the right to take the law into their own hands, regardless of another’s past criminal history,” County Attorney Kim Maki said in the release.
The Saint Louis County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
