After search, man said to be armed and dangerous taken into custody
Local and area law enforcement searched for about one hour on the south side of Tracy on Tuesday before taking a man considered armed and dangerous into custody without incident.
Police shut down about a two-block area of Front St. in front of the Tracy Alliance Church while the search took place after the call came in at 4:06 p.m. The suspect was taken into custody about 5:47 p.m.
The church was briefly turned into an incident command area. The Tracy Police Department had issued a “shelter in place” warning to Tracy residents shortly after 4 p.m. Tracy Area Public Schools were put on lockdown during the incident as well “We had a complaint of a man with a gun, making multiple threats,” Tracy Police Chief Jason Lichty said shortly after the incident concluded. “He left a residence distraught; we set up a perimeter in the direction we thought he had went and bought in help.”
Police searched every outbuilding and vehicle in an area stretching from Front St. to Kid’s World to the south.
Eventually, a drone out of Lincoln County arrived in Tracy, hovering over the area the suspected was believed to be in.
“The drone actually located the suspect before the K-9 did,” said Lichty. “The K-9 was about to find him. The K-9 was about 100 yards from finding him.”
Lichty, Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallen and Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Connor, who also leads the Brown, Lyon, Redwood and Renville County Emergency Response Unit SWAT team, approached the suspect and took him into custody behind Greenwood Nursery.
“We talked him into giving up,” Lichty said. “He gave up willingly and was taken to (Sanford Tracy) for a mental health evaluation.”
The man, Alec Joseph Jahn, 25, of Marshall, was booked at 10:13 p.m. Tuesday and made his first court appearance via Zoom on Wednesday in Lyon County District Court on charges of terroristic threats, a felony, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both; and carrying a pistol in a public place, a gross misdemeanor, which carries a jail term of 364 days and a $3,000 fine or both.
Bail was set at $50,000 without conditions and $20,000 with the following conditions: appear at all future court hearings; be of good behavior and obey all laws, do not leave the state without prior written court permission; report any change of address to the court administrator and his attorney; complete all required booking procedures; stay in contact with his attorney; have no unneccesary contact with witnesses; abstain from any use or alcohol, marijuana and non-prescribed drugs; do not enter bars or liquor stores; submit to random drug of alcohol testing and submit to testing persuant to the Marshall District Color Code Testing Program upon his release from jail; and not possess firearms.
A Rule 8 hearing was set for Tuesday, April 29, at 8:30 a.m. at the courthouse.
Jahn’s sister, Shana Jackson, who alerted the authorities, said the ordeal has been tough on the family and spoke out against those who posted about the incident on Facebook without knowing the full story.
“I was concerned for my brother’s safety and had to call; it was out of my control, and he needed help,” she said. “He was never a threat to anybody, except himself. He was having a mental health crisis, and that’s a real thing. I hate all the rumors about him doing terrible things. People online were saying (Tuesday) he was trying to kill his wife and kids. He came out peacefully; he knew the drone was above him and was tired of sitting in the trees hiding. He knew that it was over and that he needed help.”
Jackson thanked law enforcement for how it handled the situation and felt remorse it had to come to this.
“It caused a lot of commotion for hundreds and hundreds of people,” she said. “Mental health issues are a real thing, and he needs help. Let it be another reminder that if you see a family member struggling, you gotta do what you gotta do.
“It’s important that we as parents realize that our children hear what we say and how we respond to things,” she added. “We need to set their minds at ease and not let them hear our rumors and overreacting. We have to set a good example for them.”
In a prepared statement Wednesday, the family extended their appreciation for law enforcement’s concern for public safety as well as Jahn’s safety. “If you are struggling with mental health or having suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help. You matter and you are loved,” the statement read.
Lichty said he was not only pleased with the outcome of Tuesday’s incident, he was grateful for the quickly-arriving support the TPD received from agencies from around the area.
“The call came in at 4 and within an hour, we had over 20 cops here,” he said. “It went very well.”
“Shelter in place” alerts are rare in Tracy, but Lichty felt the need to alert the public, assuming the gun the man had was loaded.
“We were very close to the backside of the elementary school, which was open, Kid’s World, which was open, and there was a direct line down the tree line to the high school; it was just a precaution,” said Lichty.
The alert comes from the County’s emergency system, not the City.
“We tried to put something out on Facebook, too,” Lichty said. “Their code red is kind of like what our Nixel, which just sends texts. Their code red is the same thing, except that it makes phone calls.”
Numerous law enforcement agencies were on site during the search, including the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department, Minnesota State Patrol, law enforcement officials from Walnut Grove, Lamberton, Murray County, Redwood County, Lincoln County, Minnesota DNR and a K9 unit.
