By Mara H. Gottfried
Pioneer Press
BURNSVILLE, Minn. 鈥� Burnsville police officers and firefighters filled a federal courtroom Tuesday as a woman pleaded guilty to used to fatally shoot three of their co-workers last February. The victims鈥� families were also there.
Ashley Anne Dyrdahl, 36, admitted to two of the 11 charges against her. Prosecutors said she bought the firearms used by her boyfriend in the killings of officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth, and to injure Burnsville police Sgt. Adam Medlicott.
The sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of 2陆 years to three years and one month, followed by one to three years of supervised release, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Calhoun-Lopez said in court. It will be up to U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell to decide her sentence after a pre-sentence investigation is completed, and he鈥檚 not bound by the sentencing guidelines.
Blackwell said what Dyrdahl did went beyond purchasing firearms and, while she may have not intended the 鈥渢ragic consequences,鈥� her actions played a role.
Dyrdahl鈥檚 attorney, Manny Atwal, said she鈥檇 normally wait to make a comment in court until sentencing, but Dyrdahl told her it was important that she convey: 鈥淪he knows that she cannot say 鈥榮orry鈥� or express her remorse enough鈥� to the people in the courtroom, and family and friends of the victims who couldn鈥檛 be there. Dyrdahl is hoping that her acceptance of responsibility for her actions brings 鈥渆ven a small amount of relief,鈥� Atwal said.
After Tuesday鈥檚 hearing at the federal courthouse in downtown St. Paul, Burnsville Fire Chief BJ Jungmann said it was difficult to hear Dyrdahl鈥檚 admission because it brought them back 鈥渢o that tragic day,鈥� but he said he appreciated that she took responsibility for her portion of it.
鈥淭he hard part is we can鈥檛 get back what we really want, we can鈥檛 get back our three colleagues that are important to us and the families,鈥� he said.
Five guns in five months
Dyrdahl was the longtime live-in girlfriend of Shannon Gooden, 38. Authorities say he used two AR-15-style firearms on Feb. 18 to fatally ambush the officers and firefighter.
Two Burnsville officers were dispatched at about 1:50 a.m. to an in-progress domestic disturbance at the house on 33rd Avenue off Burnsville Parkway. Dyrdahl rented the home and Gooden lived there, along with their children.
A said Gooden was suspected of sexually abusing a child, that Dyrdahl told police he had weapons, that Gooden assured officers he was unarmed, and that police called in many resources and were negotiating with him before Gooden ambushed them. There were seven children in the house with Gooden at the time of the shootings.
Gooden shot more than 100 rifle rounds at law enforcement and first responders, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has said.
Because Gooden pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in 2008, he had a lifetime ban on possessing firearms, according to a previous filing from the Dakota County Attorney鈥檚 Office. The county attorney鈥檚 office opposed Gooden鈥檚 petition to the court in 2020 to restore his firearms rights and a judge did not restore them.
An investigation found that Dyrdahl went to two gun stores at Gooden鈥檚 direction and purchased or picked up five firearms in a five-month span, according to the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office of Minnesota.
Gooden died by suicide after shooting the first responders.
The U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office charged Dyrdahl in March with one count of conspiracy, five counts of straw purchasing and five counts of making false statements during the purchase of a firearm. She initially pleaded not guilty, before indicating in a November court filing that she intended to change her plea.
She鈥檒l do a PSA
Judge Blackwell asked Dyrdahl a series of procedural questions Tuesday before accepting her guilty plea. She told him she鈥檇 completed high school and taken some college courses online. She said she鈥檇 been sober for two years and currently takes a prescription medication for anxiety.
Dyrdahl pleaded guilty to straw purchasing a Franklin Armory FAI-15 firearm lower receiver at the Modern Sportsman on Jan. 5, 2024, and a Palmetto State Armory PA-15 lower receiver on Jan. 25 at the Burnsville Pistol & Rifle Range.
Calhoun-Lopez asked Dyrdahl if it was true that Gooden used those two firearms to ambush police officers and a firefighter/paramedic who responded to a call for help at his home.
With her voice quavering, Dyrdahl said, 鈥淵es.鈥�
To Calhoun-Lopez鈥檚 questions, she said she鈥檇 bought five firearms between September 2023 and January 2024 at Gooden鈥檚 direction, with the intent of transferring them to him to use and possess, while knowing he was legally prohibited from possessing firearms. As part of the plea deal, the remaining nine charges will be dismissed at sentencing, Calhoun-Lopez said.
Dyrdahl suggested that she do a public service announcement about the dangers and consequences of straw purchasing, which will be part of her supervised release, according to her attorney, Atwal, and Calhoun-Lopez. Dyrdahl鈥檚 idea for the PSA wasn鈥檛 for her plea deal, but 鈥渟o this doesn鈥檛 happen again,鈥� Atwal said.
The maximum federal sentence for straw purchasing is 15 years in prison for each charge, but because Dyrdahl doesn鈥檛 have a previous history of felony criminal activity, the sentencing guidelines call for a shorter sentence.
Burnsville Police Chief Tanya Schwartz said they were grateful to the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office for prosecuting Dyrdahl.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e working within those (sentencing) guidelines, and those might not always feel like the right guidelines for us, especially losing 鈥� our partners,鈥� she said.
鈥楽hook the bedrock鈥�
Wounded Sgt. Medlicott was in the courtroom, as were the widows of Elmstrand and Finseth, the mother of Ruge, and other family members. There was 鈥渁 lot of support here鈥� for the families and 鈥渁 lot of strength by the families to be here and to see every step of this through,鈥� Schwartz said.
Jungmann said they鈥檙e fortunate to have such a supportive community.
鈥淏ut I think the impact goes beyond what I can fathom,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it shook the bedrock in the community.鈥�
鈥淎nd really across the state of Minnesota,鈥� added Schwartz, who stood next to Jungmann. 鈥溾�� Nothing like this has ever happened in our state.鈥�
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