Bigby charged in Tofte shooting, arraignment today

A Finland, Minnesota, resident has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Bloomington man as the result of a shooting in the parking lot of Bluefin Bay Grille in Tofte, the early morning of Wednesday, December 9.

A criminal complaint against 61-year old Kirk Lee Bigby was filed on Thursday afternoon.  He was arrested for shooting and killing 35-year old Marcus Lee Roberts.

According to the criminal complaint, there was no altercation leading up to the shooting. Witnesses say they saw the victim walk up to Bigby and that is when he allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Roberts. Robert's was a blackjack dealer hired to work the resort's employee holiday party.

Bigby was later found in the unit where he was staying along with a .45 caliber gun matching shell casings found next to the body.
Lake County Deputies helping at the scene described Bigby as a gun enthusiast, who owned many different firearms. One witness described him as "Kirk the firewood guy". Reportedly, Bigby had been employed at Bluefin Bay for seven years and his job was delivering firewood to resort guest rooms.

The sheriff's office says Bigby was uncooperative during the arrest and suffered some minor injuries that were treated at North Shore Hospital in  Grand Marais.

An autopsy on Robert's is being conducted at the St. Louis County Medical Examiner's office.

Kirk Bigby is scheduled to appear in District Court in Grand Marais this morning at 9:30 a.m. Second degree murder is a felony offence that carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.