Farmer Charged In Shooting Has History With Police

PAYNESVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) -- We are digging deeper into the troubled history of a west central Minnesota farmer accused of killing a popular teacher.

Delbert Huber is charged with second-degree murder. His son, Timothy is charged with helping him.

According to court documents, Timothy Larson, a teacher at St. Michael-Albertville Middle School West, died over $50 and some missing farm parts.

There's been a bizarre past on the Huber farm that had police on alert for years. The peaceful fields of Paynesville Township are consumed with anger over what many considered inevitable.

For the past 20 years, Joe Feldman has lived a half mile from the Huber farm.

"It's been their attitude as long as I've known him. Any conflict they're going to take a gun out and they're going to shoot you," Feldman said.

Feldman said Delbert agreed to let him farm some of his land for two years, but when Delbert saw how well it was doing he wanted him gone. Albert Feldman, Joe's father, said Delbert Huber had threatened them in the past.

"Delbert told them if he stepped foot on his property again he would shoot them," Albert Feldman said.

It's one of six civil cases we found in Stearns County Court. The Huber's have a history of not paying bills. In one case, when Delbert finally did pay he wrote a check for $1,000 scribbling all over it.

Paynesville Police have responded to at least 40 calls from the Huber farm in the last eight years from missing mail to loud music.

Chief Kent Kortlever form the Paynesville Police Department said he knew the two Hubers well.

"Some people in the community you just know you want to be on your guard when you respond to calls and that's one of the places you watch a little closer," Chief Kortlever said.

Unfortunately, they couldn't watch closely enough. On Saturday, they say Delbert made good on the threat this small community knew so well.

"You hear it all the time. Hear it long enough and look where we're at," Joe Feldman added.

According to court documents, Timothy Larson told Delbert and his son to move some equipment off his fathers' farm on Saturday. Delbert told police they did but that some of it ended up breaking. He was mad about that and that his son was missing $50. So Delbert told police he shot Larson with a rifle.

Larson was a beloved teacher of special needs students at St. Michael-Albertville Middle School West.