Deer River man Found Guilty in Knife Incident Against Officers

A Deer River man was found guilty after confronting officers with a knife in February, the Itasca County Attorney’s office reports.

In a June 3 statement released by Itasca County Attorney John Muhar, an Itasca County jury found Vernon Kingbird Jr. 25, guilty of felony second degree assault, felony obstructing legal process or arrest, and gross misdemeanor obstructing legal process or arrest. The jury acquitted Kingbird of the felony offense of use of deadly force against a police officer.

A criminal complaint reports Kingbird was intoxicated and confronted officers with a tactical knife at the Timberwolf Apartments in Deer River on Feb. 28, at approximately 1:30 a.m.

Kingbird engaged in a stand-off with Deer River Police Officer Mike Cowan for approximately seven minutes. During the stand-off, Kingbird threatened to come after Officer Cowan with a knife and refused to put down the knife. The complaint states Kingbird said he was “sick of this” and he had “seven months,” which the officer interpreted as seven months in prison. Kingbird also told the officer to shoot him.

Itasca County Deputy Jake Olson later arrived on scene and deployed his taser to subdue Kingbird. Kingbird continued to physical resist the officers, but was eventually handcuffed and taken into custody.

Kingbird is currently held in the Itasca County Jail. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on July 6.