Opinion ID: 1867526
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Blom's Arrest

Text: On June 18, after seeing a composite sketch of Poirier's abductor, one of appellant Donald Albin Blom's coworkers contacted the police to report Blom as a possible suspect based on his belief that Blom had behaved suspiciously during the week of the abduction. Upon investigating this report, the police determined that Blom drove a black Ford F150 extended cab pickup truck with license plate number 557 HDY. The police then attempted to locate Blom. The police also learned that Blom had property near Kerrick, less than 10 miles from DJ's Expressway. They secured this property the evening of June 18 and conducted a 12-hour search of the property on June 19. An examination of a fire pit on the property resulted in the discovery of a number of bone fragments, including what appeared to be part of a jaw bone and a human tooth. The bone fragments were collected for evaluation by a forensic anthropologist. This property was searched again on June 29. Police located Blom after midnight on June 20 at a campground near Alexandria, Minnesota. The police questioned him about Poirier's abduction and he denied any involvement. He said he had been at his property near Moose Lake on May 14 or 15 and again on June 12. Blom said that on May 26 he left work early and went fishing on the Kettle River, a mile or two south of Sandstone, but claimed he was home in Richfield by between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. Later on June 20, the police arrested Blom. At a police line-up the day following Blom's arrest, Hanek positively identified Blom as the man she had seen on the convenience store property the night of May 26. On June 23, Blom was charged by complaint with kidnapping, in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.25, subd. 1(2) and (3) and subd. 2(2) (2002). He was confined at the Carlton County Jail and bail was set at $285,000. He was arraigned on July 1. He first retained private counsel, but on July 23, a public defender was appointed after private counsel received permission from the district court to withdraw.