Lake Park Man Charged for Firing Gun in White Earth City Limits

Devon Hanks. (Becker County Jail)

White Earth, MN – A Lake Park man has been charged with recklessly discharging a firearm in the city limits of White Earth.

Prosecutors say that at around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, 28-year-old Devon James Hanks was taken into custody after White Earth Police received reports of a person carrying and firing a firearm in the middle of Wolf Clan Lane. When police arrived, Hanks was walking on the road, and a witness was seeking cover behind a pickup truck and pointed him out. Officers ordered Hanks to get on the ground and show his hands, to which he complied.

A witness told police that they heard a gunshot and looked to see Hanks holding the gun while in an argument with another man. According to court documents, Hanks later told police that he had the gun and shot it in the air when talking with the other man to scare him. He stated that the man had a knife and Hanks was confronting the other man about assaulting Hanks’ father the day before, but he didn’t plan to use the gun and didn’t point it at anyone.

The arresting officer found the firearm in the ditch where they had detained Hanks. Hanks made his first court appearance on Tuesday and has been charged with recklessly discharging a firearm in a municipality and carrying a pistol without a permit.