Former Twin Cities sports-radio personality Jeff Dubay, who has previously run afoul of the law for methamphetamine possession, has been charged with felony assault in Washington County.
Dubay, 49, was arrested earlier this month and charged with third-degree assault after he allegedly assaulted a woman in the basement of a Cottage Grove house. Dubay denied any wrongdoing Tuesday.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Washington County District Court, officers were called Aug. 2 to a house in the 8000 block of Jensen Avenue South on a report of a physical domestic assault.
Jeff Dubay
As officers approached the house, a woman in a car flagged them down and said a woman in the basement was being assaulted and needed help.
“At that point, the woman who had been assaulted came walking out of the house visibly injured with blood dripping out of her mouth and a large bump around her eye,” the complaint states. “She had a tooth missing.”
According to the complaint, the injured woman told officers that Dubay lives in the basement of the house and that she and Dubay “have had sexual relations in the past, and it made her upset when he brought women to the house.”
Dubay allegedly had another woman in his bedroom, and the woman asked him to ask the other woman to leave, according to the complaint. Dubay “became angry and shoved (her) to the floor,” the complaint states. “While lying on the floor, the defendant reached over and punched her several times in the face with closed fists.”
Dubay was arrested and taken to the Washington County jail in Stillwater. He was released a week later after posting $30,000 bond.
In a Facebook post Tuesday night, Dubay wrote that he “was recently wrongfully accused of assault in Washington County.”
“You are likely to hear details that are not true and will be refuted by the only eyewitness,” he wrote. “Be assured I will appear in court and defend vigorously, as I am absolutely not guilty of the charges. Thank you for your support.”
He could not immediately be reached for further comment.
Dubay’s criminal record includes felony drug convictions in 2016 and 2009.
Dubay was a popular host on KFAN radio and later 1500 ESPN. His employment at 1500 ESPN was terminated in 2014. More recently, he has run a sports-themed podcast called the “Jeff Dubay Show.”
A Pine City teen, angry over being ripped off in a drug transaction, retaliated by opening fire on a 22-year-old dealer, fatally wounding him in a confrontation over a $180 debt, according to court documents.
Patrick James Root, 17, was charged in juvenile court last week with two counts of second-degree murder in the death of Timothy Cary Hughes, who was gunned down in a Pine City mobile home park on Aug. 4. Pine City lies between Duluth and the Twin Cities.
Authorities said Root confronted Hughes about two hours after he was swindled in a marijuana deal. Hughes reportedly told an acquaintance that he sold Root an empty wad of paper because the teen owed him money.
There were at least a half-dozen witnesses to the encounter, according to the juvenile delinquency petition. Root allegedly admitted that he shot Hughes because the victim “kept coming at me saying shoot me, shoot me.”
The Pine County attorney’s office has filed a motion to have Root certified as an adult.
A former Mrs. America was convicted Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court of stealing $5,500 from Macy’s by switching the price tags on clothes she returned.
Jennifer Susan Kline (Photo courtesy of Edina Police Department)
A jury found Jennifer Kline, 51, of Wayzata, guilty of one count of theft by swindle after a seven-day trial. She is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 18.
In November 2015, Kline spent nearly $5,800 on clothing at the Southdale Macy’s in Edina, paying for her purchases with a credit card, according to the criminal complaint.
Kline removed the tags from the items and attached them to clothing she already owned, before “returning” the items to the Macy’s in the Mall of America and receiving a $5,501 refund on her credit card, the charges said.
A store detective uncovered the scheme and reported it to Edina police.
“Several of the clothing items returned to Macy’s were dirty and showed signs of wear,” an investigator wrote in the criminal complaint.
Crowned Mrs. America in 1989, Kline went on to sell beauty products for the Eden Prairie-based ShopNBC network, which has since been rebranded as Evine.
A man who exchanged gunfire with police in January after an fight at a Hibbing home has been charged after recovering from gunshot wounds.
Che N. Jones, 24, of Rochester, Minn., made his court appearance Monday before St. Louis County District Judge Mark M. Starr in Hibbing.
He was first summoned to appear on July 24. A hearing was continued until Monday, when Jones was read his rights, charged with 11 felonies and booked into the St. Louis County jail.
Starr set bail at $250,000 without conditions, as requested by prosecuting attorney Jeff Vlatkovich. Jones has retained Attorney Marcus Almon.
Jones was shot three times by Capt. Kurt Metzig and officer Cody Loewen after fleeing from the scene, refusing to halt and drop his gun, falling in an alley and firing in the direction of the police officers on the afternoon of Jan. 13.
Metzig and Loewen were cleared in the incident in late February, when St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin determined that the officers’ actions “were completely in compliance with and justified” by state statute.
A third officer, Officer Daniel Mooers, was involved in the pursuit of Jones, but did not engage in use of deadly force.
Jones has been charged with: three counts each of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, possession of cocaine and heroin, possessing a gun as a felon, and other charges.
According to the court documents:
Police were alerted to the altercation at an east Hibbing home at 12:43 p.m. Jan. 13.
Officers Metzig, Loewen and Mooers arrived and found Jones with a gun in hand standing over a man lying on the ground.
Officers announced their presence and commanded that Jones drop the gun. He disregarded the command and ran.
Metzig and Loewen immediately pursued Jones, while Mooers checked on the victim. Mooers joined the chase once he learned the victim’s injuries were not life-threatening.
The pursuit continued across the street and down another alley, all the while officers shouting commands for Jones to stop and put down the gun.
While in the alley, Jones fell. Loewen ordered Jones to stay down, but he stood up and then fell again. Jones then rolled over and pointed the gun at the officers.
Loewen took cover behind a garbage can while continuing to order Jones to drop the gun. Jones got back on his feet and stepped into the middle of the alley, continuing to point the gun at the officers.
Both Metzig and Loewen heard a gunshot, and then both fired their weapons at Jones, the court document reads. Jones was hit in his right chest, left arm and left cheek.
Jones’ gun was recovered with two fired cartridges. Further investigation revealed that the gun had been stolen from a home in St. Charles, Minn.
A plastic baggie found on Jones contained 1.9 grams of a mixture of cocaine and heroin. While receiving medical attention, a blood sample taken from Jones revealed an alcohol concentration of 0.30.
The man Che is accused of beating suffered blunt trauma to his head, mouth and left eye and needed stitches for an eyebrow laceration. He was treated and released from Fairview Range Medical Center in Hibbing.
The man told investigators that he allowed Jones, as a stranger, to warm up in his garage because of the cold weather. At some point, the two argued and the man asked Jones to leave.
While outside the home, the man said Jones pointed a gun at him, fired it and then used the gun to hit him. Investigators recovered a bullet from a stairwell in the home that matches Jones’ gun.
Jones was hospitalized at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth and eventually returned to Rochester.
Metzig, Loewen and Mooers were placed on standard administrative leave. All returned to duty once cleared.
Three Minnesota men have been accused of robbery after an allegedly rowdy night in Prescott, Wis.
One man booted down the door of an apartment complex before he and others entered the building and wrestled a man’s cellphone away, according to charges filed last week in Pierce County Circuit Court. The men allegedly fled the area in a boat to Hastings, where one suspect reportedly slugged another in the face.
Prosecutors on Aug. 9 charged St. Paul Park residents Joshawa R. Sweeney, 27, and Dustin R. Bestler, 33, along with Hastings resident Michael K. Janke, 32, with one count each of felony robbery with use of force, felony victim intimidation and misdemeanor criminal trespassing. All three are scheduled to make their first court appearances Sept. 25.
According to a criminal complaint:
Prescott police were called at 2:43 a.m. May 6 to 110 Orange St. on a report of a man who had kicked in the door at a woman’s apartment complex.
The woman told police she and her boyfriend had been out in downtown Prescott and witnessed three men harassing customers at the Broad Street Bar. The scene prompted the couple to leave for neighboring Scab’s Bar, where the three men showed up after being kicked out of Broad Street.
The men caused problems at Scab’s as well, so the couple began walking to their Orange Street apartment. The woman told police one of the men from the group was walking behind them.
She said her boyfriend was trying to unlock their apartment door when they heard pounding on the complex’s main door. When the woman went to the door to see who was pounding, the man who had been walking behind them kicked open the door and pushed his way in.
The boyfriend said he was going to call police — at which point two other men emerged, one allegedly telling the others, “Grab his phone so he can’t call the cops,” the complaint states.
After the victims gave descriptions of the suspects, police went to the Broad Street Bar, where the name “Dustin” came up in reference to the trio of rowdy patrons. They heard the same thing at Scab’s Bar, leading one officer to suspect the reference was to Dustin Bestler. Video surveillance at Scab’s confirmed the officer’s suspicion on Bestler; police also identified Sweeney and Janke as the other two in the group.
When Prescott police checked with Cottage Grove officers for a booking photo of Bestler, they learned Bestler had been arrested that same night in Hastings on suspicion of third- and fifth-degree assault.
Hastings police had been at a fatal crash near King’s Cove about 3:30 a.m. when a man — later identified as Sweeney — came out of the marina with a broken jaw. Hastings police later arrested Bestler after learning he allegedly delivered the blow.
In an interview with police, Bestler admitted to being in Prescott earlier in the night with Janke and Sweeney. He told police Sweeney kicked down a door there, so they left Prescott on Bestler’s boat for King’s Cove.
Bestler told police that’s where he became upset with Sweeney and punched him.
The victims were later shown photo lineups featuring Bestler, Sweeney and Janke. Both said they were certain the photo of Bestler was the “ringleader” who commanded the other two to get the phone. The victims also identified photos of Sweeney and Janke, though with lesser degrees of certainty.
The FBI is offering a $30,000 reward for information in the bombing of a Minnesota mosque earlier this month.
The FBI’s Minneapolis Division announced the reward in a tweet Wednesday. The FBI says finding whoever was responsible for the Aug. 5 explosion at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington remains its “top priority.”
The explosion happened early on a Saturday just before morning prayers and caused extensive damage to the imam’s office. No one was injured.
Muslim advocacy groups and Twin Cities’ mosques are separately offering a combined $24,000 reward.
The Dar Al-Farooq mosque primarily serves Somalis in the Minneapolis area. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community outside of east Africa, with an estimated 57,000 people, according to the most recent census estimates.
The drive-through jokes are starting to get a little old at Mama’s Pizza.
For the second time in two years, the renowned Rice Street restaurant in St. Paul’s North End was struck by an errant driver, and this time there was a fair amount of damage.
A car crashed into beloved North End pizzaria Mama’s Pizza the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017. Restaurant owner Tony Mudzinski hopes to reopen in a week or two. (Courtesy of Tony Mudzinski)
Still, owner Tony Mudzinski said he hopes to get back open in a week or two. He declined to talk much about the incident, saying, “our main concern is just getting reopened.”
Police had plenty to say, though. According to them, a Chevy Malibu with three people in it, traveling north on Rice Street, struck the restaurant’s front facade just after 11 p.m. Tuesday. It also hit a traffic-light, which fell onto the car’s hood.
The restaurant was closed at the time, and nobody was injured.
According to surveillance video, two people got out of the car’s passenger door, and the driver exited shortly thereafter. He left the scene along with the passengers, but returned by the time a squad car showed up.
Wamisho Dimore, 21, first said he wasn’t driving, but later — when an officer said he’d likely been captured on video — admitted he had been. He said he didn’t know the names of the people who’d been in his car.
A car crashed into beloved North End pizzeria Mama’s Pizza the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017. Restaurant owner Tony Mudzinski hopes to reopen in a week or two. (Courtesy of Tony Mudzinski)
According to a police report, Dimore first said he was cut off by another car, couldn’t complete his turn and ran into the building — but then said he’d thought the light was green, and when he noticed it was red he tried to make quick turn and drove into the building.
Police, detecting a faint odor of alcohol, gave him a breathalyzer test on the spot, but he tested within the legal limit. He was released pending further investigation.
The last time someone tried to treat Mama’s like a drive-through, in the summer of 2015, the restaurant stayed open during repairs. A van struck the front facade, damaging the bricks, then drove away. Police caught up with the driver, whose alcohol level was twice the legal limit.
But this time, the damage appears much more extensive — with an interior wall damaged along with a big hole in the front façade.
The restaurant has seen other trials: it was damaged in 2010 by arson at the building next door; and in 2007 a frozen, burst water pipe caused extensive damage and led to a big renovation.
The family-run restaurant, at 961 Rice Street, has been a neighborhood mainstay for 53 years.
The home of former St. Paul city councilman and current mayoral candidate Melvin Carter III was burglarized Tuesday, and police have yet to make any arrests.
Melvin Carter III (Photo courtesy of Melvin Carter III)
Carter’s home, in the 400 block of Aurora Avenue in the city’s Summit-University neighborhood, was hit by a daylight break-in, police said. They were called to the home at 11:22 a.m., and an inventory of the home revealed missing electronics, household items, as well as a secured lock box containing two handguns, police said.
“The victim in this case has been very helpful, along with victim’s neighbors, in providing information, and we hope that info will lead to an arrest as soon as possible,” said St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders.
Carter did not immediately return a call for comment, but a campaign staffer sent a written statement by Carter which said:
“Yesterday, while on the way to Mayor Coleman’s budget address, I was notified by a concerned neighbor that he had seen strangers entering my home. When I arrived home I discovered an intruder, who fled the scene. Fortunately, my family was not at home during the incident.
“The experience of a home invasion is a traumatic one for myself and my family, especially my children. We are processing this as a family, and that is my entire focus at this time. I am grateful to be surrounded by concerned neighbors who look out for each other’s safety and security, and I deeply appreciate the thorough investigation by the Saint Paul police officers who responded to the call.”
Linders added that neighbors observed “things that were out of the ordinary” around the time of the burglary that made investigators hopeful of a possible arrest.
“This is a prime example of the need to be aware of your surroundings, and if you see something out of the ordinary to call the police,” Linders said.
There were roughly 1,850 burglaries in St. Paul last year, according to police statistics.
WILLMAR – The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations wants a western Minnesota man charged with a hate crime after an incident at a farmers market last weekend.
Willmar police were called to the farmers market about 11 a.m. Saturday on a report that a man had allegedly been cursing at a young Somali-American man selling vegetables at a stand.
According to law enforcement reports, the suspect then threw a pig’s foot at the man.
The Willmar Police Department identified the suspect as Joseph Fernkes, 61, of Willmar.
CAIR-MN now wants Fernkes charged with a hate crime.
“If you curse a person’s faith and then throw an object clearly designed to offend and intimidate, you should be charged with a hate crime,” said CAIR-MN Civil Rights Director Amir Malik, in a news release.
According to a Willmar police press release, several people witnessed the incident and some provided photos of Fernkes, who left the area on a wheelchair scooter.
Officers then found Fernkes and issued a citation for disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor charge requiring a court appearance. If the crime was not witnessed by a licensed officer, it is not an arrestable offense, the police release said.
The CAIR-MN release said Fernkes cursed Islam’s Prophet Mohammad and used anti-Muslim slurs. Further, people often use pig or pork products to offend Muslims, who do not eat pork.
The national CAIR organization has reported a 91 percent increase in anti-Muslim incidents in the second quarter of 2017 over the same period in 2016.
The case has been forwarded to the courts, and Fernkes’ first court date is still pending.
A federal grand jury has indicted a Minnesota restaurant owner in a labor-trafficking case.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says 71-year-old Pisanu “Pat” Sukhtipyaroge of Maplewood faces one count of forced labor. The indictment comes two weeks after Sukhtipyaroge was charged in Anoka County with forcing a teenager from the Dominican Republic to work long hours for low wages and perform sex acts.
The federal indictment alleges Sukhtipyaroge threatened the unidentified victim “and another person” with force, physical restraint and abuse of the legal process if the victim failed to work for him.
Sukhtipyaroge owns the Royal Orchid restaurant in Columbia Heights. He is due in federal court Friday.
His attorney in the federal case, Frederick Goetz, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that Sukhtipyaroge looks forward to “pleading not guilty and vigorously fighting these charges.”
The former athletic director of Como Park Senior High made his first appearance in court Wednesday on allegations that he stole nearly $100,000 in public money during his six-year career with the St. Paul school district.
Michael William Searles, 49, was represented during the brief hearing by defense attorney Earl Gray.
Michael William Searles. (Courtesy Ramsey County Jail)
The Dellwood resident faces one count of felony-level theft by swindle for his alleged conduct, according to the criminal complaint filed against him in Ramsey County District Court in June.
Gray said the charges against his client are unfounded.
“The allegations are not true, and we expect to go to trial and establish that,” Gray said Thursday.
Legal documents accuse Searles of paying for a laundry list of personal expenses with his district-issued credit card during his tenure, including groceries, golf shoes and expensive registration fees for his daughters to join lacrosse and traveling soccer leagues.
He also is accused of failing to deposit roughly $70,000 in ticket sales from the high school’s sporting events into the district’s account and about $12,000 in concession-stand proceeds, the complaint said.
When pressed by school officials about his conduct, he allegedly admitted to making some improper purchases on his school credit card and said he would reimburse the district for them, legal documents say.
As to the missing deposits, Searles said he intentionally held onto some cash proceeds so he could more quickly reimburse coaches for their expenses, instead of waiting for the district to issue them checks, the complaint said.
While a couple of coaches said Searles had provided them with cash for minor expenses, none said the amount ever exceeded more than $500 a year, legal documents say.
The school’s athletic program also reportedly saw an about-face in its financial health while Searles was in charge of it, shifting from being in the black during his first year of employment to an average of a $20,000 deficit every subsequent year, authorities say.
The school’s athletic program had a $23,000 profit the year Searles left, the complaint said.
Searles’ next court appearance is set for Sept. 8. He has yet to enter a plea to the charge.
Gray said the pending case has taken a significant toll on Searles.
“He doesn’t have his job. … It’s been quite a traumatic experience for him,” he said.
A man who was trying to rob a Verizon Wireless store in Inver Grove Heights on Thursday morning was shot by a clerk during an exchange of gunfire, according to police.
The man, who is believed to be in his mid to late 20s, has several gunshot wounds and was taken by ambulance under police custody to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Lt. Joshua Otis said. His condition is unknown.
A male accomplice who fled the store after the shooting remains at large.
Police were called to the store — The Cellular Connection, at the northeast corner of Concord Boulevard and Cahill Avenue — about 11 a.m. for an armed robbery in progress. While officers were responding, dispatch relayed that shots were fired and at least one person had been hit.
When they arrived at the scene, officers found the wounded suspect on the ground near the back of the store.
During a preliminary investigation, police learned multiple gunshots were fired inside the store, located in Concord Crossroads strip mall.
According to police, the two suspects, one of them brandishing a gun, approached the male clerk in the employee area in the back of the store.
While being held at gunpoint, the clerk drew his own gun from his waistband and shot the suspect who had the gun. The second suspect ran out of the store and fled the area in a vehicle.
An employee of a dentist office next door told a police dispatch operator the suspect fled south on Concord Boulevard in a light-blue minivan that has a dent in the rear bumper, according to dispatch audio posted online by MN Police Clips.
South St. Paul police, St. Paul police K-9, the Minnesota State Patrol and the Dakota County sheriff’s office helped search the area for the suspect; he was not located.
The motive behind the robbery — whether they were after cash or cell phones — was unclear, Otis said.
“Whatever their intent was, it occurred behind the retail sales floor,” Otis said, adding that the suspect still on the lam did not make off with either cash or store goods.
The gun used in the robbery was recovered at the scene.
The store clerk has a permit to carry a firearm, Otis said.
No one else was in the store at the time of the attempted robbery and shooting, Otis said. The clerk had been waiting on a customer just prior to the attempted robbery and “it appears the (suspects) hung around inside the store until she left,” Otis said.
Here’s how authorities say it worked: Elfonzo Dyrell Shelby sent phony surveys to inmates at a correctional facility in Mississippi.
In exchange for filling them out, the North Dakota man promised each $45. Then he used the information to apply for government benefits that he pocketed.
Elfonzo Dyrell Shelby
That was just one of the tactics Shelby, 47, deployed in a “widespread and complex” fraud scheme that scammed public assistance programs out of more than $300,000, according to information released Thursday by the Ramsey County attorney’s office.
Shelby used both fake and actual identities to scam the Minnesota Department of Human Services general assistance and food stamp programs in Ramsey, Hennepin and Renville counties for more than six years, Ramsey County authorities say.
The county attorney’s investigation produced amended charges against Shelby on Thursday. Previously charged in May with two counts of fraudulent application of public-assistance benefit cards, he now faces charges of felony-level identify theft and theft by swindle.
His public defender, Terrance Hendricks, could not be immediately reached for comment on the matter.
Shelby pleaded not guilty to the charges during a hearing Thursday afternoon. His case is now headed toward trial
“This complicated and widespread fraud scheme of our public benefit programs was uncovered thanks to the dedicated fraud investigators in the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, who then worked in partnership with other public agencies, including law enforcement from both Minnesota and North Dakota to make these charges possible,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a written statement provided to media about the case.
“This investigation is still ongoing, and we will continue our dedicated efforts to follow through on other investigations of suspicious activities within our public benefit programs,” Choi wrote.
Thursday’s charges were the culmination of months of investigation, which included the execution of three search warrants, the county’s attorney’s office reported.
Evidence seized included about 40 fraudulently obtained Electronic Benefits Transfers cards, roughly 30 of which video surveillance shows Shelby trying to use at four different ATM machines May 1, the complaint said.
In applying for his own government benefits, authorities say Shelby also was fraudulent. He claimed in his application that he lived in St. Paul, for example, when he actually lived in Fargo, legal documents say.
He also reported being without a car and without any income when he was in fact driving a Cadillac Escalade and earned a “substantial” illegal income from fraudulently obtained EBT cards, the complaint said.
He has an extensive criminal history in Minnesota, with several convictions for domestic violence, violating no-contact orders, theft and fraud-related crimes.
While investigators believe Shelby was the principal player in the schemes, they suspect two others may have assisted him, the county attorney’s office reported.
FARGO, N.D. – A Lakeville man was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday in Cass County District Court to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident that caused the death of a woman from Vadnais Heights.
A manslaughter charge that had been pending against the man, Timothy Barr, was dismissed.
According to court records, the body of Michelle Newell, 45, was found in rural Cass County in early December by investigators. The 51-year-old Barr had directed investigators to the area where the remains were found. Barr was charged with backing his car over Newell after she hid beneath the vehicle, court records stated.
Timothy James Barr, left, and Michelle Newell (Courtesy photos)
Barr read a letter in court Thursday, calling the incident that happened about a year ago a “terrible accident” that has been plaguing his mind every night since.
Describing Newell as the most kind and generous woman he had ever met, Barr said he has suffered deep mental anguish and that he “cannot keep reliving the events that haunt me.”
Friends of Newell’s said she and Barr were acquaintances who had been spending more time together in the lead-up to her death.
Noting that much of the prosecution’s case was based on information Barr provided, prosecutor Tristan Van de Streek said the outcome of the case was fair and just, “based on what we can prove.”
Barr told Judge John Irby that he thought a sentence of three years was appropriate. Barr was given credit for having served 258 days.
Newell was reported missing in September. In October, Barr was charged in Ramsey County District Court in Minnesota with murder in connection with Newell’s disappearance.
At the time, the Ramsey County and Cass County, N.D., sheriff’s offices were asking for the public’s help to find her body after Barr made comments to police informants that he killed Newell by running over her with a vehicle.
Cass County and Ramsey County officials asked people living in the Jamestown, N.D., and Aberdeen, S.D., areas to search their outbuildings and barns. They also asked Twin Cities residents to look in their area as well.
Ramsey County officials later dropped murder and criminal vehicular homicide charges that had been pending against Barr.
Thanks to more than 2,500 donors, the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center — which was damaged in a bombing on Aug. 5 — has reached its fundraising goal of $95,000 on GoFundMe.
No one was injured in the early morning attack, but it did cause extensive damage to part of the Bloomington mosque.
Supporters averaged $41.5 per donation, exceeding the goal by $300 Thursday evening.
“Mosque officials expressed thanks at the tremendous support that immediately came from all sectors of the community,” a previous statement on the site’s page said. “This is just another reminder that Minnesotans are one community who support each other during difficult times.
The GoFundMe fundraiser was created “to garner support to rebuild the community center and mosque damaged,” according to the page.
A separate LaunchGood fundraiser done on behalf of the mosque has raised an additional $25,500, about half of its goal.
On Wednesday, the FBI announced a $30,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the bombing.
“The FBI Minneapolis Division remains committed to identifying those responsible for the August 5, 2017 explosion at the Darl Al Farooq Community Center in Bloomington, MN. This effort continues to be Minneapolis’ top priority,” the FBI said in a tweeted statement.
Muslim advocacy groups and Twin Cities’ mosques are separately offering a combined $24,000 reward.
DULUTH, Minn. – As a Duluth police officer, Gary Waller investigated the 1977 murders of a wealthy heiress and her night nurse at Glensheen Mansion — a case that remains one of Minnesota’s most infamous and intriguing crimes.
As St. Louis County sheriff, he was credited with ushering in a modern age of law enforcement training and technology, improving investigations and overseeing the construction of a new jail.
Gary Waller, who investigated the Glensheen slayings for the Duluth Police Department and later served as St. Louis County, died Aug. 15, 2017, at his home in Moose Lake, Minn. He was 72.
Waller, a familiar face in the local law enforcement community for more than 40 years, died Tuesday at his Moose Lake home. He was 72.
“He was one of the best law enforcement officers in Duluth that I’ve ever known,” said St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin, who knew Waller for 40 years. “He had high expectations of himself and high expectations of the people he supervised. I learned so much from him.”
A cause of death was not immediately identified, but Waller had been ill in recent months. He was hospitalized earlier this summer, missing events commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Glensheen case in June.
John DeSanto, the former St. Louis County chief prosecutor who later became a judge, teamed up with Waller for a number of homicide cases. But their careers are forever tied through the six years they spent together on the Glensheen investigation and legal cases.
“He was a cop’s cop,” DeSanto said. “I loved working with Gary. We really became like brothers over the years through those close relationships.”
Waller came from a large law enforcement family. His father, Donald Waller, was a longtime Duluth police officer. His uncle, Floyd Bowman, also served on the Duluth police force before becoming a special agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
He worked alongside his brother, Roger Waller, who went on to become chief of the Duluth Police Department in the early 2000s. And his son, Sean Waller, also worked in law enforcement, first in Duluth and then in Oklahoma.
“I know he was very proud of his career, working with his brother and having his son follow him into law enforcement,” said St. Louis County Undersheriff Dave Phillips, who was one of the first deputies hired by Waller. “It’s like a family legacy of enforcing the law and impacting the region.”
Waller, a Denfeld High School graduate, spent more than 20 years with the Duluth Police Department, rising to the rank of lieutenant. DeSanto said he was always on the cutting edge of investigatory techniques — becoming an expert in latent fingerprints and, in one case, obtaining bite mark evidence that led to murder charges against a suspect.
But Waller became publicly recognizable for his work as the lead investigator of the slayings of 83-year-old heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse, Velma Pietila, at the historic Duluth estate.
The investigation led to charges against Elisabeth’s daughter by adoption, Marjorie Caldwell, and her husband, Roger Caldwell, in a murder-for-inheritance plot. But Marjorie was acquitted of murder charges and Roger only served five years, taking a plea agreement and getting released from prison after his initial conviction was overturned.
Waller continues to be associated with the case through a comprehensive book, “Will to Murder,” that he started putting together with DeSanto in the 1980s. The book finally got its release in 2003, co-authored by former Duluth News Tribune reporter Gail Feichtinger, and it remains a top seller in local and regional gift shops and bookstores.
“We spent a lot of time together,” DeSanto said. “I just want to relish all the good times and laughter we had. I get tearful just as I talk about it. I really loved him and I’ll truly miss him.”
Waller shifted gears in 1986, winning an 11-way race for St. Louis County sheriff just months after incumbent Ernie Grams, a close friend, died in a car crash. He was twice re-elected, retiring from a 32-year law enforcement career in 1999.
Phillips, who has more than 28 years of service with the sheriff’s office, said he was impressed by Waller when he first interviewed for a job with the agency and was “thrilled” to be hired.
“He was newly elected, but he was incredibly progressive,” Phillips said. “He was impacting everything from equipment to policies and procedures and really just modernizing the agency.”
Waller’s signature accomplishment as sheriff was the construction of a new county jail on Haines Road, which opened in 1995 and replaced an antiquated facility downtown. Building on the experience, Waller spent time in retirement working as a freelance consultant doing assessments for county jails across the country.
He also established the St. Louis County Law Enforcement Chaplaincy with local clergy members. That organization continues today, offering spiritual assistance to law enforcement officers and civilians after critical incidents.
“He hired me and a number of our now more senior deputies and staff, so his lessons and legacy are still very much with us,” said current Sheriff Ross Litman. “Because of his background, he strongly supported investigations and brought a modern ethic and new direction in the way we do our work.”
Funeral services are planned for Aug. 25 at Evangelical Covenant Church in Moose Lake. A gathering for family and friends will begin at 10 a.m., with the memorial service to follow at 11.
Minneapolis City Council members unanimously confirmed a new police chief on Friday after his predecessor was ousted following an officer’s fatal shooting of an Australian woman who had called 911 for help.
Medaria Arradondo, a 28-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department, became the city’s first black police chief in a vote that was greeted by lengthy applause. The Minneapolis native told council members he was determined to serve “the 400,000 bosses that I’m responsible for.”
Medaria Arradondo, the new police chief of Minneapolis.
Arradondo, 50, replaces Janee Harteau, who stepped down after the mayor asked for her resignation following the July 15 shooting of Justine Damond.
Damond had called police to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. She was fatally shot as she approached the responding squad car in the alley. Investigators said Damond was unarmed when she was shot once in the stomach by Officer Mohamed Noor.
His partner, Matthew Harrity, told investigators that he was startled by a loud noise right before Damond approached their police SUV. Noor has declined to be interviewed by investigators.
The state’s investigation of Damond’s death continues. A spokeswoman for the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation declined Friday to give any detailed update.
Neither officer’s body camera was switched on at the time of Damond’s shooting, drawing widespread criticism of the department. Harteau was absent from the city for several days following the shooting, and was forced out just a day after her return. Mayor Betsy Hodges said she had lost confidence in the chief.
Harteau’s tenure also included the 2015 death of Jamar Clark, a black man who was fatally shot in a confrontation with two officers. The officers ultimately were not charged in the case. Clark’s death sparked weeks of protests.
Arradondo had been the interim police chief. Before Friday’s confirmation vote, Hodges said Arradondo “will be a chief and leader who will not only ingrain changes made in the department in recent years, he will move forward with his own inspiring vision for transformation.”
Arradondo has held various posts in the department, including patrol, internal affairs and inspector. Harteau named him chief of staff in 2014, where he became heavily involved in community outreach.
His status as a department lifer made some people question whether an outsider would be a better choice to take over the department. Council Member Linea Palmisano, who represents the ward where Damond was killed, voted for Arradondo but said her support depends on how well the department performs in the future.
“We have to set clear measurable objectives and move past platitudes,” she said.
More than a month after three African Americans were assaulted at a bar in Maplewood in what appeared to be a racially-motivated attack, a Roseville man has admitted to his involvement.
Gregory Michael Votel, Jr., 30, pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court Thursday to one count of felony-level fifth-degree assault for his role in the incident, according to court records.
Shortly afterward, some patrons began making racial slurs toward the group, one of the victims later told police.
Gregory Michael Votel, 30 (DOB 09/19/1986) was charged in Ramsey County District Court in July of 2017 with one count of third-degree assault and two counts of fifth-degree assault. He was accused of kicking a man to the point of unconsciousness following a reportedly racially-motivated altercation at McCarron’s Pub in St. Paul July 14, 2017. Votel pleaded guilty to one count of fifth-degree assault Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. He will be sentenced in October. (Courtesy of Ramsey County Jail)
One of the women was hit in the face and knocked to the ground by a white male, the complaint said.
A fight broke out that spilled outside, where Votel knocked the 42-year-old black man out with a punch before hopping into a car with several others, the complaint said. Before the vehicle took off, Votel hopped out and kicked the unconscious man repeatedly in the head, the complaint said.
Police found him bleeding on the ground. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Police later interviewed Votel’s mother, who said Votel and his girlfriend were simply defending themselves during the incident, the complaint said.
Thursday’s plea was the result of a plea deal reached with prosecutors on the case. Votel previously faced charges of third-degree assault, two counts of fifth-degree assault and one count of violating an order for protection.
Information on his presumptive sentence under the terms of the deal was not immediately available.
Votel’s criminal history includes domestic assault by strangulation and first-degree criminal damage to property
His is expected to be sentenced in October.
His public defender, Baylea Cobb Kannmacher, could not be reached for comment.
Inver Grove Heights police on Friday identified the man shot by a clerk at a Verizon Wireless store during a foiled attempted robbery Thursday morning, and also released details about a second suspect who remains at large.
Inver Grove Heights police say they are looking for this man, a suspect in an attempted robbery at The Cellular Connection in Inver Grove Heights. (Courtesy of Inver Grove Heights police)
Mays, a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history in Minnesota, is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. He was listed in critical condition Friday evening.
Mays held the store clerk at gunpoint before the clerk drew his own gun from his waistband and shot Mays, police said.
The second suspect ran from the store and fled in a bluish-green 2000 Honda Odyssey minivan, police said Friday.
Inver Grove Heights police Lt. Joshua Otis said Friday that Mays is no longer under police custody while at Regions Hospital.
“We know where he is at and where he is going to be,” Otis said, referring to the hospital. “And we can monitor his situation.”
Investigators on Friday sent the case against Mays to the Dakota County attorney’s office for possible charges, Otis said.
Authorities are still working to identity the second suspect. He is described as a black man, about 20 to 30 years old, and wearing dark-colored pants, a dark-green jacket, baseball hat and black Nike shoes with a white swoosh.
Police also released a photo of him taken from video surveillance within the store.
The minivan he fled in had Minnesota license plate number 897-RKM, according to police.
Inver Grove Heights say a suspect in the attempted robbery at The Cellular Connection fled in a bluish-green 2000 Honda Odyssey minivan similar to this one on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. (Courtesy of Inver Grove Heights police)
“(The minivan) is very distinctive as it has a dent on the rear passenger side of the hatch as well as a dent on the front passenger side quarter panel,” police said in a news release, which asked the public to be on the lookout for the vehicle.
Otis said they learned during the course of the investigation that an employee at a restaurant next door was grazed by a bullet during the gunfire. The Super Wok Chinese Restaurant adjoins the cellphone store, at the northeast corner of Concord Boulevard and Cahill Avenue.
Investigators believe the robbery was not random because at least one of the suspects had been in the store previously “doing a little preplanning” before the stick-up, Otis said.
The motive behind the robbery — whether they were after cash or cellphones — remains unclear, he said.
Investigators also spent Friday working with other metro-area police departments to determine if the robbery is linked to similar recent heists at other cellphone stores, Otis said.
Mays’ criminal history in Minnesota includes convictions for felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, in 2003; being an accomplice after an attempted murder, in 2006; and felony theft in 2015, as well as possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle, misdemeanor disorderly conduct and misdemeanor driving after suspension.
Federal prosecutors say the longtime controller of a Twin Cities metal-stamping company has pleaded guilty in a $1.1 million embezzlement scheme.
John Burwood Robinson, 50, of Crystal, is charged with one count of mail fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.
Court documents show that Robinson managed bank accounts, bookkeeping records and financial reports at North Central Stampings & Manufacturing Inc. in Blaine. He allegedly opened up a bank account in the name of the company without authorization.
Investigators say Robinson used the money to pay for personal expenses, including his hobby of buying and restoring automobiles.
Robinson’s attorney could not be immediately reached for comment.
