Dickinson Police continued their investigation Wednesday and widened the search for a man wanted after escaping police custody while being detained Monday night for his alleged role in multiple burglaries of firearms in the area.
Jeremy Mellmer, 31, was detained following a traffic stop around 7 p.m. Monday and had been handcuffed before he managed to escape, Dickinson Police Detective Sgt. Kylan Klauzer said. He did not say which law enforcement agent attempted to detain Mellmer prior to his escape, but said it was not a Dickinson police officer.
Area authorities are searching small towns in southwest North Dakota where Mellmer has known family and associates, Klauzer said. Police are also using electronic billboard alerts as far away as Bismarck in an effort to help find him as well.
Klauzer added that Mellmer is likely being aided by others as he evades authorities.
“He doesn’t have a vehicle,” Klauzer said. “He’s using other people to move around right now. We don’t think he’s going to be by himself.”
Klauzer said Wednesday that a warrant for Mellmer has been issued for his role in the burglaries. He has outstanding felony warrants for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of methamphetamine paraphernalia and possession of a concealed firearm, among other outstanding warrants for misdemeanor charges.
Police consider Mellmer armed and dangerous, and the public is urged to call law enforcement and not attempt to make contact with him if he is seen.
Mellmer, who Klauzer said doesn’t have a permanent address, had been staying with friends in east Dickinson where police surrounded a house to search for him on Monday night. Mellmer’s last known address is in Dickinson, but he has lived in New England and Reeder in the past, Klauzer said.
“He has nowhere he’s really crashing too hard,” Klauzer said.
The search for Mellmer on Monday night following his escape led police to a residential neighborhood, where they surrounded a home on the 900 block of Eighth Street East. After several hours of attempting to gain access into the home and searching it, police determined Mellmer was not there.
Three of Mellmer’s accomplices
— Brittany Bruntmyer, James Gannon and Jimmy Monday, all of Dickinson — have been charged in Southwest District Court in connection to the burglaries and are being held at the Southwest Multi County Correctional Center.
Bruntmyer, 33, was charged Tuesday with possessing stolen property, including seven firearms — six of which were in her home — as well as possession of about 1.2 grams of methamphetamine. Both charges are Class C felonies.
Gannon, 33, was charged Tuesday with two Class C felony counts of possessing stolen property — a .22-caliber rifl e and a.40-caliber pistol.
Monday, 37, was charged Wednesday with possessing stolen property, including stolen ammunition, a Class C felony.
Other charges may be forthcoming against the trio, as well, Klauzer said.
Klauzer said as police search for Mellmer, they are investigating other suspects believed to be involved in burglaries throughout the area.
“It’s going to be a marathon,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff to deal with. There’s a lot of names and information to go through. This month has been a tough month on the community with the amount of thefts and burglaries.”
Dustin Monke 