News
Shooting takes place in County
Scott Wagar
03/31/2015
The residents of Bottineau County are in shock, pain and are mourning after two county residents were shot and killed at Turtle Mountain Pork (TMP) near Souris by an employee of the hog barns after being reprimanded for his performance in the barns.
Jeremy Isaac Rodriguez Rios, is currently in the Bottineau County Jail for the murder of Christopher Sluder and Brian Story, both of Bottineau.
According to court documents, on Tuesday, March 24, at 8:17 a.m., the Bottineau County dispatch center received a 911 call from TMP stating that an unconscious employee had been discovered at its facility. Shortly after the first call, another 911 call came from TMP stating that the employees had found another individual who was unconscious at the site.
The Bottineau County Sheriff’s Department, Bottineau Ambulance and the Souris Fire Department responded.
Bottineau County Sheriff, Steve Watson, arrived at the scene at 8:32 a.m. and found Story and Sluder both deceased from gunshot wounds.
Sluder, 50 years old, and the manager of TMP, was discovered in one of the barns on a walk way between the pens of the pigs.
Story, 37 years old, a member of the employee development program at TMP, was located in a hallway between the barns. Watson noticed a number of 9mm Winchester Luger spent casings near and around Story’s body.
In determining the estimated time of the two shootings, Watson learned in his investigation of the crime scenes that Story and Sluder had clocked in at 6:22 a.m., while nine employees started their work day between 6:36 a.m. and 7:55 a.m.
Four employees entered the building between 6:22 to 6:53 a.m., which was important, because at 6:53 a.m. Sluder was on the phone in his office with the barn’s veterinarian, which she confirmed when she came to TMP to conduct some work a short time later.
The veterinarian also stated that when she had been called by Sluder at 6:53 that morning that he was going into the barns to conclude his morning check of the pigs.
As Watson was able to place the time of shooting between 6:53 a.m. (talking to the veterinarian on the phone) and 8:17 a.m. (the time of the 911 call), law enforcement was able to interview the employees who were on site during the shooting, which included Rios.
During the interviews, law enforcement learned that on Monday, March 23, there had been a verbal argument between some of TMP’s employees and Sluder and Story concerning the performance of the workers while on the job.
One of the employees in the argument was Rios. On Tuesday evening, an employee of TMP, forwarded information to the investigating team that stated Rios had placed a picture on Facebook showing a black handgun, which he posted 11 days earlier.
Investigators then interviewed Rios and he stated that he did post the photo on Facebook through his cell phone, but acquired the photo through the internet. When law enforcement asked for the cell phone, Rios stated that it was at his apartment in Bottineau.
Investigators then obtained a search warrant for Rios’ apartment where they discovered and seized a case for a 9mm handgun, a partial box of Winchester 9mm ammunition and his cell phone. However, law enforcement didn’t find Rios’ 9mm gun in the apartment.
Rios was once again interviewed and confessed that he shot Sluder and Story that morning at TMP.
When asked what he did with the 9mm pistol, he told the officers that he placed the pistol in the pigs’ sewage pit, which is a concrete container that is located beneath the barns.
At that point, Rios was arrested on two counts of murder, which is a class AA felony. The maximum sentence for each count is life in prison without parole.
On Thursday, March 26, Rios made his first appearance and bail hearing in district court at the Bottineau Courthouse. Rios’ bail was set at $750,000.
Rios, who is 18 years old and comes from Puerto Rico, had been employed with TMP for six months. Company records show that up to this past week, Rios had no incidents reports against him.
Dr. Jason Hocker, media contact for AMVC, which owns and operates Turtle Mountain Pork, stated that AMVC members are saddened by the murders at TMP.
“We were devastated and shocked by the tragedy that occurred at Turtle Mountain Pork,” Hocker said. “We are cooperating with authorities to ensure the responsible person is brought to justice.
“Chris Sluder was the manager of the farm. He has been an AMVC employee for five years and will always be remembered for his dedication to his family and the pride and joy he had in his children. Chris was very caring for all of the farm staff, asking how they were doing personally, in addition to in their roles as employees,” Hocker said.
“Brian Story had been with the company for nine months and was an up-and-coming leader within the organization. Brian was a caring family man and always had a positive attitude and greeted everyone with a smile.
“These two individuals will be deeply missed,” Hocker added. “We are shocked and saddened by this. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of these victims and their coworkers, who are also saddened by this tragic event.”
Individuals throughout the county are struggling with the crimes that took place at TMP, especially the local children in Bottineau who knew Story’s two children.
The day following the incident at TMP, the school’s administration and counselors, along with Pastor Carol Wendel of Metigoshe Lutheran Church and Rev. Joshua Reimche of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, met with local school children who were struggling with the news that came from TMP.
“We were called to the school to speak to the students,” said Wendel. “For quite of few it was emotional for them. When a child gets up in the morning they don’t think that their parents will not be coming home; and, the children in the school had concerns that this could happen to them. At this age it really hits them personally.
“The kids really felt for the children who lost their parents,” Wendel added. “While at school, we gave the children a place to share their thoughts and concerns and we encouraged them to go home and share their concerns with their parents and get reassurance from their families as well.”
AMVC is also providing counseling for its employees.
“Our greatest concern is the safety and well-being of our employees. We have made contact with a grief counselor and had a meeting with the counselor and employees,” Hocker said. “The grief counselor will be available to the employees as needed. We are all doing our best to support one another through this extremely difficult time and will continue to do so.”
AMVC has set up a Memorial Fund for Sluder and Story at the First National Bank in Bottineau.
“We all continue to grieve and pray for the families of Chris and Brian,” Hocker said.
Agencies involved in Rios’ crimes include the Bottineau County Sheriff’s Department, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, U.S. Boarder Patrol, Renville County Sheriff’s Office, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and North Dakota Game and Fish.