A 35-year-old man has been charged with firing the gunshots that killed a Twin Cities man whose body was then dismembered and dropped into the waters of Lake Superior off the northernmost reaches of Minnesota's shoreline.
Jacob C. Johnson, 35, of Superior, Wis., was charged Monday in Cook County District Court with second-degree intentional murder in connection with the death of Richard A. Balsimo, 34, of St. Paul, who was reported missing by his family on June 20.
Two accomplices were charged earlier with helping Johnson get rid of Balsimo's body: Tommi L. Hintz, 30, of Duluth; and Robert T. West, 40, of South Range, Wis. All three remain jailed. Both are charged with accomplice after the fact to murder and interference with a body.
Balsimo was shot on June 19 while riding with others in a car as Johnson drove from Duluth to the Twin Cities, Monday's charges read. On June 20, the charges continued, Johnson told West what happened: He and Balsimo were arguing, Balsimo threatened others with a knife, and he shot Balsimo.
Dive teams worked for two days in mid-July before recovering the remains in the lake near Grand Portage.
The car was located a week later "burned and unidentifiable" in Douglas County, Wis., across the border from Duluth, according to the charges. West said he arranged to have the car torched, the charges read.
According to the charges against all three defendants:
Hintz told the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that she, West and Johnson all met at West's home south of Superior, Wis., on June 20, the date Balsimo was reported missing. West arranged to hire a commercial fisherman in Grand Portage to go out on Lake Superior.
