Shannon Brandt will appear in court on Thursday for his initial appearance, where he’s expected to enter a guilty or not guilty plea.
Brandt, 41, was arrested after police say he fatally hit 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson with an SUV on Sept. 18 during the early morning hours. The incident happened after a street dance at a local bar in McHenry, North Dakota.
Brandt will make his initial court appearance on Thursday at 9 a.m.
Prosecutors allege Brandt initially left the scene and told a 911 operator that the teenager was part of a “Republican extremist group,” stating that Ellingson was calling others to come “get him.”
SHANNON BRANDT CHARGED WITH MURDER IN DEATH OF CAYLER ELLINGSON, WHO WAS ALLEGEDLY ‘RAN OVER’ BY SUV
North Dakota man who allegedly ran down ‘Republican’ teen says he doesn’t want his own life, job jeopardized
(Foster County Sheriff, Facebook)
Brandt was released from jail after posting a $50,000 bond on Sept. 20, and court documents show that he wasn’t placed on curfew or house arrest.
After the incident, Ellingson was taken to a local hospital with severe injuries and later died.
North Dakota Highway Patrol Capt. Bryan Niewind told Fox News Digital earlier that there was “no evidence” suggesting that the teenager was part of a “Republican extremist group” or that the incident was politically driven.
After the incident, Brandt was charged with criminal vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a crash involving death, but it was upgraded to murder.
Shannon Brandt, the man who is accused of fatally hitting Cayler Ellingson with an SUV, has been charged with murder in the death of the 18-year-old, and new information alleges that the teenager was run over by an SUV.
(Stutsman County Correction Center/Facebook)
Foster County State’s Attorney Kara Brinster said that the criminal vehicular homicide charge was dismissed because of the new murder charge.
A probable cause affidavit states that Brandt asked a 911 operator if he was going to prison.
“I just wanna ask you a question, am I going to prison?,” Brandt asked, according to the affidavit.
During the 911 call, Brandt also “made comments regarding the incident being intentional and not an accident,” the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, when the 911 operator asked “he wouldn’t let your vehicle go then what happened,” and Brandt responded “yes I… I just tried to take of en, he… he wasn’t going to let me go, I I hit him I didn’t mean to and and he’s subdued I was scared to death but he’s subdued, he can’t do anything to me now so, so this is why I’m calling you.”
Photo shows mugshot for Shannon Brandt, the man who admitted to hitting an 18-year-old with his car after the pair had a “political dispute.” Outset image shows partially redacted court records
(Stutsman County Corrections/Court records)
“I mean I… I almost oh god, I almost just runaway but I thought jeez obviously if it was a total accident I wouldn’t be scared but I know it was more than that,” Brandt said, the affidavit states.
Before Brandt allegedly hit Ellingson, the teenager called his mother and said that “‘he’ or ‘they’ were chasing him.” The mother told her son that she was “on her way to get him” prior to that call, the affidavit states.
Brandt told the 911 operator that Ellingson “wouldn’t let him leave” and made a call to someone saying “something to the effect of you’re going to have to come here and handle him,” according to the court document.
An autopsy done on Ellingson indicates that his injuries were the result of being “ran over” by the SUV, and not being hit by the front of the car.
Mourners at funeral of Cayler Ellingson.
(Matt Symon Fox News Digital)
At 2:34 a.m. on Sept. 18, Ellingson called his mother and asked if he should call his “cousins or posse,” the affidavit states, adding that his mother didn’t know if the teen was feeling threatened yet, responding that he “didn’t need to do that and that she was on her way to pick” him up.
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Ellingson’s last call with his mother would be at 2:42 a.m., when he said something to the effect of ‘they are after me or he is after me,” according to the affidavit, which adds that the call then dropped.
Brandt turned himself into jail on Sept. 30, and is being held on a $1 million bond.
A funeral was held for Ellingson on Sept. 21.
