LITCHFIELD - A Litchfield man made a first court appearance Tuesday in Meeker County District Court in connection with an alleged robbery and assault Sept. 28 in rural Grove City.
A Litchfield woman was charged for throwing a gun allegedly used in the assault in a lake and four other individuals with ties to the incident were arrested on drug-related charges.
Tre Anthony Ertl, 20, of Litchfield, was charged with felony counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and second-degree assault.
He is being held in the Meeker County Jail, with bail set at $150,000.
According to the complaint filed against him, Ertl, two witnesses and a man who is the alleged victim were traveling to a rural Grove City location when Ertl allegedly discussed putting the man in the trunk of the car.
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As the man exited the car to escape, Ertl allegedly opened the trunk, took out a rifle, pointed it at the man, punched him in the face, took his carry-on bag containing personal items and said he wanted the man to walk home naked.
According to the complaint, Ertl pointed the gun at the man and and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. He pointed the gun at the man again and threatened to shoot him in the knees.
According to the criminal complaint, the man responded by asking "You're going to kill me for nothing?"
A witness intervened and told Ertl to put the gun away, which he did.
Another witness then drove the man to Paynesville where he contacted law enforcement.
Ertl was arrested Sept. 30. While in jail, he contacted Michelle Margaret Patzold, 33, of Litchfield, who allegedly retrieved the gun Ertl used in the assault and then threw it in Star Lake, according to the complaint.
The rifle was retrieved from the lake Oct. 1 by the Litchfield Rescue Squad dive team.
Patzold is charged with a felony count of aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery by obstructing an investigation.
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Bail for Patzold was set at $25,000 during her first court appearance Tuesday. Her next court appearance is Oct. 10.
Ertl's next court appearance is set for Nov. 5.
During the investigation, when multiple search warrants were executed, four other individuals were arrested on non-felony drug-related charges. Three of those individuals also made their first court appearance Tuesday.
