Lutsen owner eager to contest criminal charges, attorney says

Tom Olsen, Duluth News Tribune, Minn.Duluth News-Tribune

Mar. 10—GRAND MARAIS — While some evidence has been slow to trickle in, an attorney for the businessman accused of burning down the historic Lutsen Resort lodge said his client is eager to have his day in court.

It has been more than two years since the

North Shore landmark burned to the ground,

and more than three months since Bryce Campbell was charged with arson and insurance fraud.

"We've been in sort of a holding pattern, waiting for discovery," attorney Eric Newmark said Monday, "and my client would like to get the case moving."

Campbell, 41, had been set for a hearing in criminal court for the first time since his December arraignment. However, he did not personally appear; attorneys instead requested a scheduling conference with the judge to discuss next steps in the case.

Authorities

allege that Campbell intentionally set fire to one of the state's oldest lodges

in the early morning hours of Feb. 6, 2024, and then tried to collect a $16.5 million insurance claim.

The Canadian businessman, who bought the property in 2018, had undertaken extensive renovations, including an overhaul of the restaurant and plans to open guest rooms on the long-shuttered third floor of the 1952 building.

But his business entities were reportedly in serious financial trouble, owing more than $14 million in past-due and near-due debts at the time of the fire, and holding just $34,000 in their collective bank accounts. A bank had issued a default letter on one of his mortgages just two weeks before the blaze.

A criminal complaint alleges that Campbell seemingly joked about burning it down in the days before the fire. Authorities also say that he lied about his whereabouts that night, with evidence eventually showing he was inside the lodge less than an hour before smoke was first seen, and that a possible accelerant was found in a basement boiler room.

Campbell has repeatedly denied any involvement in the fire, and

in January sued his insurer for denying his claim.

Attorneys in the criminal case filed a joint motion asking the court to order the release of three audio recordings of statements Campbell gave under oath to insurance investigators. Judge Michelle Anderson said she would require the company to provide the recordings to both sides.

Prosecutor Dan Vlieger told the court he is still working to obtain some outstanding evidence from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and that there is expected to be an updated report from the Minnesota State Fire Marshal's Office.

Anderson scheduled a placeholder hearing for June 15 via Zoom, but Newmark indicated he hopes to soon receive the remaining discovery and set a date for an in-person contested hearing.

The defense has not indicated any issues that it intends to raise, but attorneys commonly seek to have cases dismissed for a lack of probable cause or have evidence and statements suppressed on constitutional grounds.

The Minnesota Attorney General's Office is assisting Cook County Attorney Jeanne Peterson with the prosecution.

Vlieger, the state's lead attorney, is no stranger to the remote North Shore county. He also led the prosecutions of three defendants

involved in the murder and dismemberment of Ricky Balsimo Jr. in 2021,

and is actively handling the case of Levi William Axtell, who is accused of

fatally bludgeoning 77-year-old Lawrence Scully with a shovel and moose antler

in 2023.

Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Keaon Dousti is also on the case. He recently led the prosecution of

former Cloquet police officer Laci Silgjord for attempted theft

from an elderly woman with dementia.

Anderson, who is chambered in Virginia, was assigned to the case after Campbell exercised his right to remove Judge Steve Hanke, the lone jurist on the North Shore. Hanke had presided over a number of

lawsuits against Campbell from contractors, employees and cabin owners seeking unpaid debts.

Campbell, who was arrested in the Detroit area the same day he provided his final statement to insurance investigators, remains under supervised release after posting a $100,000 bond. He was expected to stay in the Lutsen area and is not allowed to leave the country.

In-person court proceedings would, for now, be held at the Cook County Courthouse in Grand Marais. It remains to be seen if the defense will seek a change of venue.

As the News Tribune reported over the weekend, the Lutsen Resort property remains tied up between mortgage holders, unpaid contractors and Campbell's insurer.

Judges have agreed to suspend proceedings in both Campbell's insurance lawsuit and another case seeking to force an auction of the property, until the criminal case is resolved.