Third Suspect Arrested in Connection With Fire and Homicide Near Bemidji

Devin Charles Belcourt

A third suspect in connection with a shooting and house fire near Bemidji that left a man dead on Sunday was charged today in Beltrami County.

32-year-old Devin Charles Belcourt of Bagley was arrested on May 5th in Naytahwaush, MN. He has been charged with second-degree intentional murder, first-degree arson and first-degree burglary with a dangerous weapon and explosive.

He has been charged in connection to a May 3rd incident in which a man was shot dead in a home 10 miles outside of Bemidji. The home was then intentionally set on fire.

Belcourt has a significant criminal history in Minnesota, including theft, domestic assault, and multiple accounts of burglary.

Also involved were 37-year-old Travis Gunning of Clearbrook, who was charged with aiding an offender and first-degree aggravated robbery, and 30-year-old Rebecca Elizabeth Lockman of Bemidji, who was charged with aiding an offender. Both are being held in Ward County Jail in Minot, ND.

According to the criminal complaint, Gunning, Lockman, and Belcourt went to a house in Grant Valley Township to commit aggravated robbery and steal a safe they believe contained a large amount of money and drugs. Lockman stayed in the car while Gunning and Belcourt went inside to commit the robbery.

Gunning says it was Belcourt who shot a man in the back of the head while in the house. According to the complaint, Gunning and Belcourt then agreed to set the house on fire in an effort to conceal the murder. When Gunning and Belcourt fled the home with the safe, they encountered another man who also lived at the house. That man and the suspects exchanged gunfire before the suspects left the scene in an SUV.

Gunning told officers Belcourt fled the vehicle when they stopped on Jones Townhall Road. Gunning and Lockman then drove to Minot where they were arrested.