BIA officer accused of stabbing his wife

A Bureau of Indian Affairs police officer for the Spirit Lake Nation is accused of stabbing his wife in the chest with a kitchen knife during an argument at their Devils Lake home.

Duane Gunville, 41, was being held Friday on $50,000 bail at the Lake Region Correctional Center in Devils Lake on a charge of aggravated assault.

Gunville’s wife called 911 shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, police said.

“Basically, it was a 911 hang-up call with the sounds of a frightened female, and the officers were able to locate where she was,” said Detective Sue Schwab of the Devils Lake Police Department.

According to a criminal complaint, Gunville and his wife were arguing, and he dragged her into their home. Gunville got a kitchen knife and stabbed her in the upper chest, leaving a wound that required several stitches, the complaint states.

The complaint says Gunville’s wife also had an injury on her forearm, bruising on her neck and a scrape on her knee. She was treated at Mercy Hospital in Devils Lake and was released the same day, Schwab said.

Gunville fled from Devils Lake to the Belcourt, N.D., area where, after a standoff, he was arrested later that day, authorities said. A message left for the Belcourt police chief seeking more details about the arrest was not returned.

Gunville’s initial court appearance on the aggravated-assault charge has not been scheduled. The Ramsey County clerk of courts office did not know if he has an attorney. A message left for him Friday at the jail was not returned.

Archie Ingersoll is a reporter at the Grand Forks (N.D.)

Herald, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.

Tags: north dakota, news, bia, crime