FORT RIPLEY

Fort Ripley man faces murder charge in wife’s hit-and-run death

Matt Erickson — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 17:52:02 GMT

BRAINERD — While admitting they had argued the day of her death, the man accused of driving the vehicle in the hit-and-run death of his wife in Fort Ripley Township claims he was drunk and doesn’t remember the incident.

The investigation into 49-year-old Angela Marie McClelland’s June 25 death, however, showed Tony McClelland’s vehicle was present at the location and time of her death, according to court documents filed Wednesday, July 12, in Crow Wing County District Court.

Tony James McClelland, 47, was charged with felony second-degree murder with intent but no premeditation, felony first-degree manslaughter, and two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the death of his wife, Angela McClelland, on a frontage road near Highway 371 in Fort Ripley Township south of Brainerd.

District Court Judge Matthew Mallie set Tony McLelland’s bond or bail at $1 million without conditions; or $2 million with several conditions, including that he remain law abiding, make all future court appearances, not possess or use firearms or dangerous weapons, not use alcohol or controlled substances, not enter bars or liquor stores, be on an alcohol monitor, and surrender his passport.

As of Wednesday afternoon, he remained in custody at the Crow Wing County Jail. Mallie ordered a presentence investigation, and Tony McClelland’s next court appearance is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. July 25 in Crow Wing County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Tony McClelland, the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office received a report at 5:41 a.m. of an unresponsive woman lying on Legend Lane. Responding deputies found the woman had suffered significant trauma to her skull and had abrasions on her body consistent with being struck by a vehicle, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

While attempting to identify the victim, investigators learned Angela McClelland had been reported missing by her daughter and confirmed the victim found on Legend Lane was Angela McClelland.

Investigators also learned Tony McClelland and Angela McClelland attended a birthday party at a residence in Fort Ripley the night before, arriving together between 4:30 and 6 p.m. and leaving at about 1:30-2 a.m. in a Ford Explorer.

Law enforcement officers spoke with Tony McClelland at the residence he shared with Angela McClelland on Sleepy Hollow Road in Fort Ripley Township. When asked if he knew why officers were there, McClelland said, “Yup,” according to the criminal complaint, and then proceeded to “vent about how (Angela McClelland) had ‘thrown a hissy fit … just like every other … day.’ ”

Tony McClelland said after the party while driving home, he and Angela McClelland had an argument, so he dropped her off along Matte Road, which is west of where Angela McClelland’s body was found on Legend Lane. He said he then drove home, went to bed, and didn’t realize Angela McClelland hadn’t returned home until the next morning.

After getting a search warrant for the vehicle and cellphones, investigators inspected the Ford Explorer and found blood, tissue, and a single strand of hair under the body of the vehicle. Tony McClelland told investigators they had not hit any animals with the vehicle recently.

When asked specifically about the blood found under the vehicle, he said Angela McClelland was being belligerent and he was worried she would put him in the ditch, according to the criminal complaint.

When asked if the blood found under the vehicle would come back as Angela McClelland’s blood, Tony McClelland said something to the effect of, “I couldn’t tell ya if it will be her blood.”

DNA testing of the blood matched Angela McClelland’s blood. A review of forensic data also contradicted Tony McClelland’s version of events about what roads he was driving the Ford Explorer after leaving the party.

The data showed at 1:53 a.m. June 25, the vehicle was traveling on Legend Lane, stopped, then reversed at speeds up to 20 mph to where Angela McClelland’s body was located and stopped again. The vehicle then left the scene, reaching speeds over 100 mph before returning to their home on Sleepy Hollow Road.

On Monday, July 10, investigators questioned Tony McClelland about the forensic data placing him at the scene and the suspected time of Angela McClelland’s death. Tony McClelland responded Angela McClelland had “gotten mad at him for looking at another woman and was grabbing the steering wheel,” according to the criminal complaint, but then said, “ ‘I don’t remember much after that,’ claiming he ‘was pretty drunk, too.’ ”

Deputies then placed Tony McClelland under arrest.

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Criminal charges possible Wednesday in Fort Ripley hit-and-run death

Staff reports — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 15:20:11 GMT

FORT RIPLEY, Minn. — The 47-year-old husband of the woman whose body was found on a road June 25 in Fort Ripley Township has been arrested in connection with her death and is expected to be arraigned on criminal charges Wednesday, July 12.

The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office reported that Tony James McClelland was arrested at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, July 10, on probable cause for felony second-degree murder and criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the death of his wife, Angela Marie McClelland, 49.

Tony McClelland was arrested without incident at the Fort Ripley home he shared with Angela McClelland, said Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang.

“He did appear to be surprised though,” Klang said.

https://www.facebook.com/CrowWingCountySheriff/posts/pfbid02UKpcEtbNbXuGZiN5YXQiHESrj2o7183TG5faWvDwZ2vaJ2ARZNLGigyb2favZYwrl

Angela McClelland’s body was found near the intersection of Legend Road and Killian Road west of Highway 371 after the Sheriff’s Office received a report at 5:41 a.m. June 25 of a body lying in the roadway.

Investigators from the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Minnesota State Patrol believed McClelland was a victim of a hit-and-run and began developing leads. They spent the past two weeks following up on interviews and gathering pieces of evidence leading to Tony McClelland’s arrest, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

Klang also said his office received several tips from the public, which was helpful.

He declined to discuss the events that led to Angela McClelland’s death on Tuesday as investigators were still working on preparing information to present to the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office.

“There’s a lot of integral parts to this investigation, and some of that stuff takes time to get it back from processing,” Klang said. “We had multiple people working on it, and we had to bring that together to paint the picture of what happened, what led up to it.”

Tony McClelland is being held in the Crow Wing County Jail pending formal charges from the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office. Klang said he expects McClelland to be arraigned Wednesday on the criminal charges.

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Law enforcement investigating woman's death in north-central Minnesota

Matt Erickson — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 21:13:53 GMT

FORT RIPLEY, Minn. — The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a woman whose body was found Sunday, June 25, near the intersection of Legend Lane and Killian Road in southern Crow Wing County.

At 5:41 a.m. the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office received a report from a passerby who thought there may be a body lying in the roadway off Highway 371. Deputies responded and found a dead woman on Killian Road.

Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang said the death is considered suspicious but as of Sunday afternoon no arrests had been made and investigators are still looking into suspects and gathering information about the woman’s death. No other information about the death was available Sunday afternoon but Klang said details would be released as it becomes available.

The death is being investigated by the sheriff’s office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5857.

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Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig students visit Fort Ripley

Pioneer Staff Report — Sat, 12 Oct 2019 14:00:00 GMT

Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig High �� students were invited to Fort Ripley to help with planting native grasses such as sweet grass and sage. They also met with an Army recruiter, picked sage and participated in a drum demonstration, a release said.

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In national BBQ competition, Minn. family takes 7th in pork ribs, 29th overall

Frank Lee — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 17:21:41 GMT

BENTONVILL, Ark. -The Dobosenski family took seventh in the pork ribs category in the Sam's Club National Pro BBQ Tour Saturday, Oct. 7, and consider themselves lucky - no bones about it.

The Fort Ripley Township couple and their three daughters of "Rub My Rack BBQ" were among 50 finalists competing for a $150,000 purse at the Sam's Club headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.

"We're not feeling too bad about it," said Tonia Dobosenski, mother of the Crow Wing County family, which won $400 for its efforts. "This was our first time making it to the national finals."

The couple include their children - 9-year-old Zoe, 5-year-old Gemma and 4-year-old Maizie - in their hobby of competing on the Kansas City Barbeque Society circuit.

"Out of the best cooks in the country, we were 29th overall. That's nothing to hang your head about," she said of their final standings in Saturday's cook-off. "We're super happy about it."

Stan Dobosenski is the co-owner of Ironfire Ironworks Inc. where his wife Tonia is the bookkeeper at the full-service metal fabrication shop in Brainerd.

"Another cool thing was that I had family members at the finals," Tonia Dobosenski said. "Stan's sister drove down there, and my grandma, who is over 80 years old and taking treatments for cancer, and my aunt and uncle from Oklahoma, they all came to cheer us on."

The Rub My Rack BBQ team's first Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned event was the professional Great Northern BBQ competition in Brainerd in 2013; it placed seventh in chicken and 11th overall.

"In terms of competitor mindset, if you don't think you can show up to a competition and win, you should not be going in the first place," Stan Dobosenski said of his approach to winning.

Tonia Dobosenski, 39, is the Fort Ripley Township clerk and her 41-year-old husband Stan is on the Fort Ripley Township Board and is the vice president of the Minnesota Barbeque Society.

"Barbecue is huge across this country and even across the world, especially in Australia and New Zealand and even Germany, and it just seems to be snowballing," Stan Dobosenski said.

In the National Pro BBQ Tour finals presented by Sam's Club, the team ranked 29th overall when the smoke had cleared-and 21st in chicken, 39th in pork and 33rd in brisket categories.

"Across the walkway from us were the people who won the $50,000 top prize-a father-and-son team," Tonia Dobosenski said of Que'n Stew'n & Brew'n of Acworth, Ga. "The father had cooked that contest six times before and made it to the finals, but it was his first time winning it."

Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctions more than 500 barbecue contests worldwide, and its members also offer assistance to civic and charitable organizations who organize events, according to its website.

"Last year, we made it through our local competition and through our regionals ... so we did better this year," she said of Rub My Rack BBQ's second attempt in the Sam's Club competition.

The family of five entered a Watertown, S.D., competition three years ago called "Cookin' on

Kampeska" and took fifth place in the ribs portion.

"The total amount of teams is 750 in the beginning ... so we were part of the top 50 teams to get to the finals this year," she said of the National Pro BBQ Tour. "That's a big deal in and of itself."

Kansas City Barbeque Society is a nonprofit "dedicated to promoting and enjoying barbeque" and is "the world's largest organization of barbeque and grilling enthusiasts with over 20,000 members worldwide."

"The top three teams for team of the year at KCBS-sanctioned events were all there competing Saturday," she said of the Sam's Club National Pro BBQ Tour on Saturday. "It was amazing how many really, really good cooks were there-the best of the best."

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