Sheriff’s Office arrest suspect who fled stolen vehicle, K-9 unit assists in search

On April 30, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a vehicle found in the woods in Grand Portage.

A Grand Portage Conservation Officer first reported the vehicle, a white 2015 Toyota Tacoma to the sheriff’s office after discovering it near 8101 E Hwy 61. The truck had balsam trees stacked against the vehicle’s passenger side, the tonneau cover pulled over the cab, and a backseat cover used for pets placed over the hood, according to the sheriff’s report.

Once the responding deputies ran the Minnesota license plate, it was discovered that the 2015 Toyota Tacoma had been listed as stolen from Lake County.

The Grand Portage Conservation Officer told the deputies that he saw an individual walking up a maintenance road away from the location of the Toyota Tacoma and that the individual ran into the woods when he noticed he was being watched.

The sheriff’s office deputies then requested the assistance of Deputy Paul Spry and K-9 Eddy to track and locate the individual in the woods.

Once arriving on the scene, K9 Eddy led the deputies to a white building where the individual was hiding. The deputies arrested the individual, identified as Gideon Joseph Martin, 36, and he was taken into custody without incident.  

Martin, a Duluth resident, had a large duffel bag with him at the time, which included an Apple laptop and several items with the stolen truck owner’s name.

During the arrest, Martin admitted to the deputies that he had stolen the truck north of Silver Bay a few days prior.

On Friday, May 2, Martin appeared in court and was charged with one count of felony for theft of a motor vehicle and one count of felony for possession of stolen property. He is currently being held at the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. His bond is set at $25,000.

Cook County Chief Deputy Sheriff Leif Lunde told WTIP that the case is still under investigation.

According to Minnesota Court Records, Martin has charges of careless driving, traffic accidents, giving a false name to police, disorderly conduct, domestic assault, DUI, and burglary dating back nearly 20 years.

In June 2018, the Duluth News Tribune reported Martin was facing attempted murder and assault charges in the second-degree after hitting a former coworker with his vehicle in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. 

Martin was eventually convicted of assault in the second degree in 2019, and the attempted murder charge was dismissed.

Kalli Hawkins May 6, 2025