Crystal Man Charged With Wife's Murder

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Crystal man is charged with the murder of his wife, which led to a standoff with the West Metro SWAT Team Wednesday evening.

Police say Dennis John Sandland, 56, called two of his children Wednesday to say he had killed their mother, 53-year-old Sandra Kay Sandland.

Officers arrived at his residence on the 4800 block of Yates Avenue North just before 6:30 p.m. They said the defendant came out of the home briefly but refused to surrender and ran back inside.

The SWAT team was called, and the defendant surrendered without incident about two hours later.

Sandra Sandland was found dead on a bed, and a gun was lying next to her. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office says she had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Officers say they overheard the defendant say at the hospital that he was angry with his wife and shot her in the head.

Tests showed that the defendant had been drinking the night of the murder, with a blood-alcohol level of .094.

Police say they had been at the home once in 2010 on a domestic disturbance call. His family says he had been violent with is wife in the past.

Sandland was charged Friday with second-degree murder. He is currently in the Hennepin County Jail, and will make his first court appearance Friday afternoon.

His bail has been set at $2 million.