Emotional Sentencing Hearing for Woman Involved in Fatal Ambush of Burnsville First Responders
Anger and grief mixed with tears in a federal courtroom in St. Paul on Wednesday during the sentencing hearing of Ashley Anne Dyrdahl, the woman who illegally bought guns for her boyfriend, which he used to fatally ambush three Burnsville first responders. The sentencing hearing brought some sense of closure to the families of the victims, but the pain and grief still linger.
Dyrdahl, 37, was sentenced to three years and nine months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release. She pleaded guilty in January to straw purchasing the two firearms that her boyfriend, Shannon Gooden, wielded when he killed officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth on Feb. 18, 2024. The maximum federal sentence for straw purchasing is 15 years in prison for each charge, and relatives of the victims asked U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell to impose the longest sentence he could.
Victim Impact Statements
The sentencing hearing included emotional victim impact statements from the families of the victims. Burnsville Police Chief Tanya Schwartz spoke outside the courthouse after the sentencing, saying the day brought “some sense of closure to the judicial portion of the nightmare we’ve been living since Feb. 18, 2024.” However, she added: “The sentencing will never feel like it’s enough, because we will never get our fallen heroes back.” Cindy Elmstrand-Castruita, who was married to Elmstrand, introduced herself to the judge as a 28-year-old widow and said her dream life had become “a nightmare.” Ruge’s mother, Christi Henke, said there were only three things in her life that had been harder than giving her victim impact statement: Calling her daughter and Ruge’s father to tell them Matt had been shot, being at the hospital and having a doctor tell her they’d done everything they could, and seeing the caskets.
Photos of Burnsville police officers, from left, Paul Elmstrand, Matthew Ruge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth are displayed during a community vigil Feb. 20, 2024, at the Burnsville Police Department/City Hall. (Mara H. Gottfried / Pioneer Press)
Accountability and Apology
Dyrdahl was indicted for buying five firearms for Gooden between September 2023 and January 2024. Though she didn’t pull the triggers in the killings, Gooden “would not have had a trigger” to pull if she hadn’t illegally purchased the weapons, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristian Weir. Dyrdahl said in court that she has a “heavy heart” knowing her choices played a part in the tragedy. She said she never could have imagined Gooden would have caused the harm he did. She said she is “deeply sorry.” Dyrdahl’s attorney, Manny Atwal, explained that Gooden’s abuse was not always physical; it was about control and manipulation, which explains why she went along with what he wanted.
Ashley Anne Dyrdahl covers her face as she drives away following her first court appearance at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building in St. Paul on March 14, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press).
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