Cliff Buchan
News Editor

A man was shot here last week in what Forest Lake police were told was an attempt to collect a bad debt.

It all happened at 1:47 a.m. last Thursday when a resident at North Shore Apartments used a shotgun to defend himself when a group of seven to 10 men broke down his door, said Chief of Police Clark Quiring.

During the confrontation, Paul John Rohde, 21, of 1167 North Shore Drive, fired one round on number eight birdshot that hit Cody Joseph Mezzenga, 19, of 7927 Joseph Ct., Lino Lakes, in the back of his left calf muscle.

Quiring said Mezzenga was one of the seven to 10 men who met in the early-morning hours of March 2 and decided to go to Rohdeís apartment and collect $500 they claim Rohde owned one of the men for the sale of a motorcycle.

ìWe are still trying to run this all down,î Quiring said of the details.

What is clear, the chief said, is the group of men came to the apartment, used a shovel to pry open the outside building security door and then kicked in the door to Rohdeís second floor apartment.

Quiring said Rohde then confronted the intruders with his shotgun and fired one blast. A companion, Jessica Lynn Herlick, 21, of Hugo, called 911 after the shot was fired and the man was hit. The initial call to police said the intruders had weapons, Quiring said.

Quiring said the group of men left the apartment building in three cars and went to Fairview Lakes Regional Medical Center in Wyoming where Mezzenga was treated. He was later transferred to Regions Hospital, St. Paul, where he is expected to remain for two to three weeks, Quiring said.

At the hospital, Wyoming Police Department officers held two of the vehicles which were later searched by Forest Lake officers, Quiring said. A third vehicle reportedly left the hospital before police arrived.

Three men were detained by Forest Lake police and later released. Quiring said police have not yet interviewed the shooting victim nor the man who claims he was owned money.

Still in process

ìThe investigation remains ongoing,î Quiring said.

Quiring said the shooting incident should be lesson to anyone who has a gripe over any kind of debt and how it should be collected.

ìLeave it to the pros,î the chief said. ìThere is no better way. Thatís what the courts are all about. Donít collect it at 11:30 at night.î

Quiring said no determination has been made on charges.

If the investigation determines Rohde fired in self-defense, he would not be charged, the chief said.

As for the group of men who went to North Shore Apartments, first-degree burglary and assault charges may result.

Once the investigation is complete, Quiring said the reports would be sent to the Washington County Attorneyís Office for formal charging decisions.

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Forest Lake Times
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880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
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