Minnesota Man Sentenced For Firing on Officers During Standoff

Buffalo MN, (KROC-AM News) - A Minnesota man was sentenced today for shooting at law enforcement officers during a standoff two years ago.

41-year-old Brandon Lee Gardas of St. Michael was arrested following the more than 24 hour long standoff at his home in central Minnesota in late June in 2022. Court records say the standoff began after the Wright County Emergency Response team surrounded his residence and ordered him to come outside.

He was wanted on a number of warrants and was accused of brandishing a handgun during a confrontation with his pastor. The court document also indicates that law enforcement officials had received information that Gardas was in possession of a high-powered assault rifle.

During the long ordeal, law enforcement use a device attached to an armored vehicle to knock down the front door of the house and deploy chemical agents inside the residence. The criminal complaint in the case says that prompted the man's 13-year-old son to exit the house.

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Following that, additional chemical agents were sprayed into the home and it was alleged that Gardas responded by opening fire on law enforcement agents. Officials reported that bullets struck two armored law enforcement vehicles and one of the rounds missed the head of a Wright County deputy by only a few inches.

The charges state, but additional bullets were fired at an armored vehicle while the Emergency Response Team "tactically dismantled" portions of the home to improve their ability to see inside and locate Gardas. Still, the standoff stretched through the next day and ended with an exchange of gunfire when law enforcement officers stormed into the home in the evening.

Gardas was shot in the chest while he was shooting at the law officers. The criminal complaint says he continued resisting even after he was shot and it required the use of a Taser and a non-lethal round from a foam baton to subdue him. Gardas was then airlifted to a hospital in the Twin Cities for treatment before he was brought to the Wright County jail.

The court document says investigators searched the home and recovered three AK-47 rifles, three AR-15 rifles, an M14 carbine rifle, a shotgun, and for handguns. They also found more than 12,400 rounds of ammunition, and eight ballistic Kevlar panels.

Gardas was charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault against a peace officer, illegal possession of a firearm, felony drug possession, and a felony count of violent threats. Back in August, he entered into a plea agreement and admitted to a second-degree attempted murder charge and the illegal possession of a firearm charge in exchange for the dismissal of the other counts.

At his sentencing hearing today in Wright County Court, Gardas was given a 153 month prison sentence for the attempted murder conviction and a concurrent 5 year sentence for the firearm violation. He was given credit for the 883 days he spent in jail following his arrest.

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