The Associated Press
CALEDONIA, Minn. (AP) -- The four full-time police officers in this small town in the Minnesota bluff country had spent most of their time investigating small-time thefts and vandalism. That changed at 8:04 a.m. Monday.
A call came in from a sheriff’s department in Iowa. A man had confessed to killing another man a few hours earlier in Caledonia: Could one of the local officers check a house on the edge of town?
Police Chief Duane St. Mary said one of his officers went and found the body of a well-known and well-liked mason and bartender. He was in bed. He had been shot in the head with a shotgun and covered with a blanket.
“It’s an experience for any officer,” St. Mary said. “You never get used to it.”
The killing is putting a strain on local officers, who are working the case with state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents, and it has shocked and angered people in this close-knit community of about 3,000 in southeastern Minnesota.
Justin Robert Meyer, 23, of New Albin, Iowa, has been charged in two states with kidnapping and two counts of second-degree murder in the death of Mark Sullivan, 27.
The criminal complaint alleges Meyer entered the home of his former girlfriend, a 21-year-old woman police have not identified, early Monday morning. There he found Sullivan, her new boyfriend, and shot him.
Meyer then allegedly threatened the woman and their 1-year-old daughter before loading them into his truck and taking them south into Iowa. He allegedly sexually assaulted the woman in a house there before calling the local sheriff’s office and confessing to the killing.
The crime was still sinking into the customers at a dimly lit bar in Caledonia called The Ranch earlier this week. It was where Sullivan worked.
“He was very well-liked,” said Nancy Loomis, a Ranch employee who knew Sullivan for a number of years. “There’s a lot of angry people in Caledonia.”
Many recall Sullivan as a hard worker willing to do anything to help a friend, and always with a smile on his face.
“His nickname was ‘Beef’ because he was a little (stout), but, man, could that guy work,” said Steve Popplewell, who knew Sullivan for about four years. “I would let him work on my crew (of insulators) any time.”
Besides his stints behind the bar at The Ranch, pulling glasses of tap beer and pouring drinks, Sullivan worked as a mason, laying brick for area Kwik Trip stores and gas stations.
Loomis said the violence wasn’t a complete surprise because the 21-year-old woman repeatedly told her that Meyer had threatened her. Many times, Loomis said, the woman feared for her life. She had filed a restraining order against him, according to court papers.
News of the shooting spread quickly, and reaction was immediate.
“Someone just doesn’t come up and pop you off,” said Keith Vonderohe. “If you’re not locking your doors, you’re certainly thinking about it more often.”