Criminal Justice

Armed with Glock, Minn. Judge Holds 3 a.m. Home Intruder at Bay

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Awakened at about 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day by the sound of breaking glass, a Minnesota judge and former prosecutor opened his safe and got out his Glock as his wife called 911.

Armed with the .45-caliber pistol, St. Louis County Judge Shaun Floerke, who serves as assistant chief judge of the 6th Judicial District, found a highly intoxicated man who had allegedly broken in through a window and held him at bay near his home’s entryway until the authorities arrived, reports the Duluth News Tribune.

An unidentified suspect, 26, is being held in the St. Louis County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail, on preliminary charges of trespassing and third-degree criminal damage to property. The newspaper says there doesn’t appear to be any connection between the alleged incident and Floerke’s work on the bench, but a visiting judge from another jurisdiction is expected to be assigned to hear the case against the suspect.

Floerke declined the newspaper’s request for comment, pointing to the code of judicial ethics. A Minnesota Judicial Branch website provides details about his background.

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