A 22-year-old Brainerd man, on the run for 10 days and wanted by law enforcement for a drive-by shooting, was located and charged with the incident.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was searching for Alan Gene Hines, who was wanted for an April 26 shooting incident near Pillager. Authorities conducted a search warrant the day after at a Baxter townhome where Hines was believed to be. Multiple agencies assisted Cass County with the search warrant and were staged at the townhome for about five hours, only to learn he was not there.
The search for Hines continued and on May 6, Crow Wing and Cass county deputies located and arrested Hines at a rural Brainerd residence off Wise Road, according to the police incident report. A day later, Hines was charged in Cass County District Court with two felony counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and a drive-by shooting toward an occupied vehicle, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
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According to the criminal complaint filed against Hines, law enforcement officers from the Cass County Sheriff’s Office responded April 26 to the emergency room at Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd in reference to a reported shooting. Hospital staff had contacted law enforcement after a person identified as ECD arrived at the emergency room with a gunshot wound and it was reported that the incident occurred at the Wilder boat access located off 25th Avenue Southwest in rural Pillager.
Investigators learned from hospital staff that ECD suffered a gunshot wound to his lower left leg with the bullet entering the lower right calf and exiting the left side of his leg. Speaking with ECD, the initial story provided to law enforcement was believed to not be consistent with the truth. ECD girlfriend corroborated this first story. After questioning from law enforcement, the girlfriend noted she was not present for the shooting and then explained she had taken a nap when ECD left with a friend. A female returned and woke her indicating ECD had been shot and they then went to the hospital. ECD apologized for misleading law enforcement and stated he was scared. He then provided a recorded statement detailing what happened. ECD and his friend, identified as DDDD in the complaint, met at a Brainerd residence and then went to Wilder Boat Landing to meet someone. Upon arriving at the landing, Hines and a female approached the driver’s window of their vehicle and stated DDDD owed $800, the complaint stated. While Hines was speaking with DDDD, Hines kept his hand in his pocket. At some point, DDDD began to drive off as he saw Hines pull his hand from his pocket in a motion consistent with pulling a gun, although ECD did not see it. ECD stated as they were driving off, he moved from the seated position and lowered himself into the vehicle. He heard a gunshot and was struck, the complaint stated. Upon leaving the landing, they returned to DDDD’s residence and picked up his girlfriend before going to the hospital.
In DDDD’s statement to authorities, he stated they were going to meet a female known as “Sam Savage.” Upon arrival, there were several other people there. He stated a vehicle pulled up next to the vehicle’s driver’s door with several feet in between. “Sam” and Hines approached his window and began yelling at him saying he owed him money from 2018. Hines then pulled out a gun. Upon seeing the gun, DDDD drove off as Hines fired a shot at his vehicle, the complaint stated. Upon hearing the shot, ECD grabbed his leg and stated that he had been hit.
DDDD also stated he had recovered the bullet from under the floor mat of the vehicle and turned it over to law enforcement.
Law enforcement conducted a six-person photo line up with ECD, who positively identified the photograph of Hines as the person who shot him. The investigation revealed the identity of “Sam Savage” to be SLAD, who was then located by law enforcement. In a recorded statement, SLAD stated she had been walking down to the boat landing on the day in question to meet with DDDD who was bringing her money for cigarettes and gas. While walking to the landing, Hines pulled up with two other people. She then got into the vehicle with them and rode to the landing. She stated Hines began arguing with DDDD about money owed from 2018. At this time, she did not want to be involved so she walked away. She then heard a pop and observed DDDD drive away at a high rate of speed. Hines and the other two people then also left at a high rate of speed. She did not see a gun and had only heard the shot while walking away. She also stated she received a phone call from Hines’ ex-girlfriend who informed her that her gun was gone and she was looking for Hines.
A search warrant was ultimately procured April 27 for a Baxter townhome and the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s tactical team executed it. The two people with Hines ultimately surrendered and agreed to provide statements to law enforcement detailing the April 26 incident. They stated Hines and SLAD exited the vehicle and spoke with the victim and his friend. They heard Hines ask the victim for money and became nervous and then heard the guy in the other car yell “No, no, no'' and try to move his car. The complaint stated they saw Hines raise his hand and the gun go off. They began to pull away as Hines ran to their car and began banging on the door trying to get in. SLAD did not get back into the vehicle as they left. They then dropped off Hines. Prior to being dropped off, Hines was freaking out in the vehicle saying that now the cops were going to come. The complaint stated Hines called his ex-girlfriend telling her what had happened as he had her gun and that he was going to a safe house.
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According to court documents, Hines is currently a wanted fugitive by the Department of Corrections for a weapons conviction out of Crow Wing County.
Hines is housed in the Crow Wing County Jail in Brainerd. Unconditional bond was set at $50,000 or $25,000 with conditional release to include he cannot contact the victims, cannot possess any firearms or dangerous weapons and cannot have any alcohol or controlled substances.
Hines is scheduled for his next court hearing Monday, May 17, in Walker.
