by April Scheinoha
Reporter
A Goodridge man, who admitted burglarizing homes while people were attending funerals, was sentenced Tuesday, Oct. 15 for five felony offenses. Dennis Obert Hovet, 64, stole firearms out of homes in three area counties. He said he got the idea from television.
Hovet received concurrent sentences with the largest sentence being a 50-month prison sentence for a felony charge of first degree burglary – dangerous weapon in Red Lake County. The lowest sentence was a 24-month prison sentence for a felony charge of receiving stolen property – firearm in Pennington County.
Hovet was also sentenced for a felony charge of first degree burglary – dangerous weapon in Polk County, another felony charge of receiving stolen property – firearm in Pennington County and an amended felony second degree burglary charge in Marshall County.
Hovet was given credit for 228 days served. Hovet was also ordered to not use or possess firearms, ammunition or explosives for his lifetime. He was ordered to supply a DNA sample as well. Besides court fees in each file, Hovet was ordered to pay $1,300 in restitution in the Red Lake County case, and the right to restitution has been reserved in the Marshall County case.
Two charges of felony theft of a firearm were dismissed in Polk and Red Lake counties, respectively.
The incidents go back to September 2023. The Red Lake County charges involved the burglary of a home near Brooks, where Hovet stole a Remington 700 SPS 25-06 gun while the homeowner was attending her husband’s funeral. He told law enforcement that he sold the gun to someone else. Hovet was linked to that case after a stolen credit card was used Nov. 4 at Community Oil in Clearbrook. After law enforcement issued a press release, two Goodridge residents identified him as a potential suspect. One tipster said Hovet is a “known thief” who drives a Ford Ranger similar to the pickup truck pictured in the press release.
The Pennington County charges were filed in March 2024. Those charges stemmed from Hovet’s possession of a Walther PPQ 9mm handgun and a Savage Model 3 .270-caliber rifle and knowledge that they were stolen. Law enforcement confirmed the firearms had been stolen, but Hovet hadn’t been charged in connection with those firearms until a search warrant was executed at his home in March. It was unclear from where the firearms had been reported stolen.
The search occurred after the Polk County investigator informed Pennington County authorities that multiple surrounding counties were investigating Hovet for burglaries while residents were attending funeral services.
Before the Polk County investigator applied for the search warrant, the Pennington County investigator and a Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force officer surveilled Hovet’s residence, finding a Ford Ranger. It was similar to a Ford Ranger seen on surveillance video of the burglary suspect at a Clearbrook gas station.
Inside Hovet’s home, law enforcement found the two above firearms as well as a CRA 20-gauge single-shot shotgun, a Remington 32 .22LR bolt-action rifle and a Remington 870 Express 12-gauge shotgun. It was determined the former two firearms had been stolen out of a Fosston home Feb. 8 while the owner was attending her husband’s funeral. Law enforcement learned the 12-gauge shotgun had been reported stolen in a burglary in rural Middle River. The couple had been attending a funeral at the time. At least two other guns – a .223 bolt rifle with scope and a 30-30 Winchester with scope, were also stolen. According to the complaint, Hovet said he sold the guns.
An earlier complaint indicated that Hovet had been previously convicted of felony theft in July 1992 and had also received a one-year diversion for a theft charge in 2002. The complaint indicated that he successfully completed the diversion. Hovet had also received a stay of adjudication for misdemeanor theft in 2022.