MOORHEAD — At Isaac Arndt’s first appearance in a Minnesota court on Monday, Aug. 26, after he was extradited from North Dakota on Friday to face murder charges, a Clay County prosecutor told a judge that the teenager has no ties to the community and is considered “an extreme danger to public safety and a serious risk of flight.”

Arndt, who turned 18 in June, faces up to 40 years in prison for stabbing 14-year-old Jaelyn Walker to death last Monday near the banks of the Red River in Moorhead. He is charged with second-degree murder.

Post / Moorhead Police Department

Assistant District Attorney Caitlin Hurlock asked Judge Jade Rosenfeldt to set Arndt’s bail at $2 million cash or no conditions, or $1 million with conditions, including GPS monitoring and no contact with Walker’s family.

Hurlock said that while Arndt’s pretrial release was fairly low, he “is accused of the brutal murder of a 14-year-old girl.” She read a litany of Arndt’s actions after the alleged murder, including filing a false report to police to cover up his crime, fleeing Minnesota and attempting to destroy evidence.

She said Arndt did not grow up in the community and was living in a Youthworks facility at the time of the murder.

Rosenfeldt agreed with the prosecutor’s assessment and set bail as requested. She ruled that Arndt was entitled to a public defender in this case and set the next hearing date for September 19.