FRAZEE, Minn. (Valley News Live) — A Frazee man has been acquitted of manslaughter in a fatal shooting but was convicted on two lesser charges.
Willis Charles McDonald, 31, was found not guilty of manslaughter in connection to the shooting death of Arlan Ray Bergstrom, Jr., but was found guilty of failing to give aid and possessing a pistol without a permit. McDonald was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
According to court records, Becker County deputies responded to a shooting around 1:20 a.m. on August 10, 2024, at the Acorn Lake Trailer Park near Frazee. A woman called 911 and reported that McDonald had shot a man.
McDonald left the scene but contacted Otter Tail County authorities, later being arrested at his home on East Wymer Lake Road by Minnesota State Troopers.
He told investigators that earlier in the day he had attended the Becker County Fair with family, then stayed behind with a friend. That night at her home, McDonald said Bergstrom approached him while he was in his vehicle and punched him in the face. McDonald claimed he was still in the car during the altercation, and when he tried to fire his gun, it misfired the first time. He then fired again, hitting Bergstrom in the chest.
Witness statements, including from the woman present, matched McDonald’s version of events. She said Bergstrom and McDonald had never met and confirmed that McDonald left the scene after the shooting. Bergstrom was pronounced dead shortly before 2 a.m.
The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the chest.
While McDonald avoided a manslaughter conviction, his failure to provide aid and unlawful gun possession resulted in a two-month jail sentence.
