WHITEHALL, Wis. – Eighteen days after being arrested in the grisly drive-by shooting of a motorist near Ettrick, a Melrose man is being charged. Multiple charges against Todd Eric Gieck, 61, were recommended to the Trempealeau County district attorney by Sheriff Brett Semingson:
> First-degree reckless homicide.
> First-degree recklessly endangering safety.
> Possession of a firearm by a felon.
The victim, Kyle Dahl in Ettrick, 36, of Ettrick, was killed the evening May 15. He suffered two bullet wounds in his head on U.S. Highway 53 south of Ettrick while driving home from the Twin Cities. Sheriff Brett Semingson arrested Gieck 15 days later on an unrelated charge as investigators assembled and assessed evidence. Their conclusions were expected to be in a criminal complaint when District Attorney John Sacia files the document in court. Unclear in the meantime:
> What was the unrelated charge on which Gieck and arrested and held.
> What was the felony conviction that precluded Gieck from possessing a gun legally.
A search of Wisconsin court records found no cases against Gieck. In California, where Gieck lived earlier, there was a 2010 drunken-driving and attempted assault case and a 1996 vehicle theft case. In Melrose Gieck has been living a few miles northwest of town on Osley Road. This is in Jackson County and about 19 miles from where Dahl lived.
Earlier: Official: Name released in Ettrick highway murder
Earlier: Cops jail suspect in drive-by Ettrick fatality
Gieck. Held in the Trempealeau County jail in Whitehall.
Dahl. Shot five weeks ago on highway between Ettrick and Galesville.
What we don’t know
Questions linger in the public’s mind about the slaying of Kyle Dahl. It’s believed two shots were fired from a passing car as he was enroute home toward Ettrick. Unclear: What led to the shooting? Was there a motive? Had the paths of Gieck and Dahl ever crossed before? Was Dahl targeted? Or was it a random shooting?