Man assaulted, boat stolen at Crystal Lake
Jameson Ferguson has been charged with Felony Assault of the 2nd degree with a dangerous weapon which comes with a 1-7 year sentence and/or $4,200 to $14,000 fine. He was also charged with Felony Theft of a motored vehicle without the owner’s consent of $2500 or more, and Misdemeanor Assault to the 5th degree for fear of bodily harm or death. Ferguson has not posted a bond, which was set at $50,000.
Criminal Complaint:
According to the criminal complaint, Ferguson assaulted another person with a metal pipe. Burnsville police arrived at the Crystal Lake West boat ramp around 8:25 PM on June 28, 2022, for reports of a man who had assaulted two people on Pic Nik Island which is located in the middle of Crystal Lake. Police spoke with a witness at the boat ramp who reported that a Ferguson yelled at him and then took a kayak out to the island. Victim 1 reported he was at the island with his pontoon and victim 2 said he was already on the island in a hammock when Ferguson yelled at them saying the island was his and they needed to leave. Ferguson then made references to other people who were on the island. Victim 1 said Ferguson then came up to him and swung a metal pipe at him hitting him in the head. Both Victims 1 and 2 then left the island and swam out into the lake to escape Ferguson. A passing boat then picked them up and brought them back to the boat ramp. Victim 1 stated he saw Ferguson get into his boat and drive away from the island. Victim 2 said he feared for his life from the encounter with Ferguson.
After taking their statements, police went out in a civilian boat to Pic Nik Island. When officers arrived, they observed Ferguson pacing back and forth on the island and yelling. After a couple of hours, Ferguson reportedly surrendered and he was arrested and transported back to shore. While in transport, Ferguson reported he was Loki and the island was his.
Mugshot for Jameson Ferguson
Original Story: Around 9:07 PM on Tuesday, June 28th a 911 call came in for an assault in progress at Picnic Island in the middle of Crystal Lake in Burnsville, Minnesota. The initial caller is saying a man in a kayak came out to the island, attacked a guy, and took his pontoon. The male victim is said to be in the water and they were trying to help get that victim to shore, but a suspect was chasing them so they were unable to help the victim. They also said the suspect might be armed. Due to the caller being chased, they were not able to get the victim back to shore or out of the water at the time. Police officers arrived on the scene at the Crystal Lake West boat ramp about 9 minutes after the initial call came in. At that point, the victim was able to get back to shore.
Once on scene, police confirmed there was one male victim with a head injury and they requested medics to the scene to look at the victim. Police spoke with a kayaker that had left Picnic Island and confirmed that a male subject who was “acting crazy” was on Picnic Island with a red pontoon. Police then went out in a civilian boat to the island and were able to officially confirm that the male subject was in fact the suspect they were looking for. They attempted to make verbal contact with the male suspect, but they were unable to understand him as he was just yelling at them. They said he might be having some sort of mental crisis. The suspect later made threats of wanting to kill people and the police, and that he might have a weapon. It was at this point that the police decided to keep their distance until they could get additional backup in place.
Google map image of the Crystal Lake in Burnsville, Minnesota. Picnic Island and The Crystal Lake West boat ramp have been circled in red.
Several resources were then called in with mutual aid coming from the Burnsville Fire Department and their boat, Dakota County Sheriff and their boat, a South Metro Police boat, the Minnesota State Patrol helicopter, the Eagan Police Department, and the Eagan PD K9. Once on scene, State Patrol was able to confirm again that the male was still on the Island, but because of the lack of light with the sun setting, they were not able to confirm if he had a weapon on him or not. They also confirmed that it appeared the male suspect might be having some form of mental crisis.
Police continued to observe the suspect from the air and water while a plan was put into place and additional resources could arrive. Police were able to get on the island around 10:55 PM with the male suspect in custody just before 11 PM. Medics were requested to stage at the boat launch. The island was cleared with no one else confirmed on the island at 11:14 PM. The suspect was brought to land and taken to the hospital for further evaluation just after 11:30 PM.
This is still a developing story and more details will likely be confirmed and updated over the coming days. Once the police department is able to issue an official press release, we will update this article with the latest information.