The burglar accused of beating a 95-year-old Anoka man to death pleaded guilty on Tuesday.

Isaiah Montrell Thomas, 28, used a flashlight and a clock to kill Albert Loehlein during a November 2016 home invasion, according to charges filed last year.

An Anoka County judge has accepted Thomas’s guilty plea; Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9.

“This was a horrendous crime, committed on a very vulnerable man, that shocked and saddened this community,” Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo said in a news release. “After discussions with Mr. Loehlein’s family, we feel this was an appropriate conclusion to the legal aspect of this tragedy.”

In a written statement, Loehlein’s family praised Palumbo and local law enforcement agencies for their work on the case.

“This plea helps to bring closure for us,” the statement said. “Everyone’s out-pouring of care and concern helped our family through this very difficult ordeal.”

On Nov. 26, 2016, Thomas entered Loehlein’s home to burglarize it. When Loehlein confronted Thomas, he beat the elderly man to death with a flashlight and a clock, according to court documents. A relative of Loehlein discovered his body two days later.

A fingerprint collected from Loehlein’s blood-spattered bedroom linked Thomas to the crime. Investigators also discovered that Thomas had pawned a small mantle clock, which family members said came from Loehlein’s home.

At the time of the murder, Thomas was awaiting sentencing on another burglary in Ramsey County, according to the Anoka county attorney’s news release.

An 11-year-old girl was taken into custody Tuesday night after a threat was made against two Cloquet schools.

Cloquet police were notified Tuesday evening of a threat posted to social media, referring to Cloquet High School and Cloquet Middle School.

After a 30-minute investigation, officers located the girl and took her into custody. Police seized an Airsoft pistol from the girl’s home.

“The Cloquet Police Department is working closely with the Cloquet School District officials to ensure our schools remain a safe environment and one that is conducive to productive teaching and learning,” police said in a statement.

The girl was being lodged at the Arrowhead Juvenile Center. Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call 911.

Upset that the woman had turned down his romantic advances, a Minneapolis man urinated in his co-worker’s water bottle, authorities say.

Conrrado Cruz Perez, 47, was charged with two counts of adulterating a substance with bodily fluids, according to the criminal complaint filed against him in Ramsey County District Court.

The first count is a gross-misdemeanor; the second is a misdemeanor.

Deputies responded to a Perkins restaurant in Vadnais Heights last October after a 42-year-old employee at the restaurant reported that she was being harassed by a baker.

She told investigators that she noticed several occasions over the past few months when the water bottle she keeps at work tasted like urine, the complaint said.

The incidents started after the woman told Cruz Perez, her co-worker, that she only wanted to be friends after he expressed a romantic interest in her, authorities say.

Cruz Perez initially denied tampering with the woman’s water bottle when deputies first interviewed him about the allegations, but later admitted to once urinating in the container after investigators suggested they might conduct DNA testing on the bottle, the complaint said.

Cruz Perez said he had to go to the bathroom when the incident occurred but that the restaurant was too busy at the time for him to use the facilities, authorities say.

He added that he forgotten to throw away the water bottle after relieving himself in it, according to the complaint.

The woman told investigators that she noticed a taste of urine in the bottle about 15 times over the past several months.

Cruz Perez made his first appearance on the charges last week.

His attorney, Adriel Benjamin Villarreal, said his client had not yet entered a plea in the case.

“We haven’t made any decisions at this point,” Villarreal said.

He declined to comment on the allegations made against his client.

Cruz Perez could not be immediately reached for comment.

His criminal record consists of a handful of parking tickets.

A manager at Perkins said Cruz Perez previously worked as a baker at the restaurant but was fired immediately following the allegations.

His next court appearance is scheduled to take place March 28.

MOORHEAD, Minn. – The driver of a vehicle who was wounded in an officer-involved shooting on Interstate 94 on Monday, March 5, allegedly tried to shoot a Minnesota State Patrol trooper in the head, before being shot herself in the arm, according to Clay County District Court documents filed in the case of a male passenger.

According to the court documents:

A Minnesota State Patrol trooper, identified only as Trooper Iverson in court documents, had stopped to help the woman and her passenger, who were in a vehicle that had slid into the median about 10:10 a.m. a few miles east of Moorhead.

After the trooper determined that the vehicle was stolen out of Wisconsin, he approached the vehicle and a man later identified as Domonique Maurice Crayton, 29, stepped out of the vehicle.

As the trooper tried to handcuff Crayton, the woman, only identified in court documents as MVG, got out of the driver’s seat, and with her right arm extended, pointed a 9 mm handgun at the trooper’s head and appeared to pull the trigger, the documents said.

The gun, however, did not discharge. The trooper then pulled himself and Crayton away, the documents said.

Meanwhile, the woman tried to chamber a round in the handgun and raised the gun again toward the trooper. The trooper then used his weapon to hit her in the right arm.

The woman then dropped the gun and ran north into a field, court documents said. Officers later captured her, and she was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Crayton appeared in court Wednesday, March 7, on felony counts of first-degree damage to property and receiving stolen property (a motor vehicle), as well as misdemeanor counts of giving a peace officer false information and obstructing the legal process.

Crayton, who throughout the hearing insisted his name was Donald Moor El, is also being sought by Milwaukee County, Wis., authorities on a warrant for felony charges of kidnapping, human trafficking, second-degree sexual assault and possession of a firearm by a felon.

A Mounds View woman has been charged in connection with a shooting that injured a Woodbury resident this past weekend.

Courtney Janice Dixon, 27, has been charged with three felony counts of aiding and abetting: for first-degree firearm assault, drive-by shooting and second-degree assault with a firearm.

The shooting left a 66-year-old man with injuries that required removing part of his colon.

The incident, a Washington County criminal complaint states, stemmed from a dispute over the man’s son not attending Dixon’s father’s funeral.

Woodbury police arrested Dixon March 5.

According to the complaint:

Woodbury police responded March 4 when a caller reported three people had threatened to shoot him outside his home in the 700 block of Lake Ridge Drive.

While police were en route, gunshots were fired and a man was shot in the hip. Two vehicles fled.

The man’s son identified Dixon as one of the suspects. Rescue workers took the man to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where his injuries required multiple surgeries, including one to remove part of his colon.

Officers located seven or more bullet holes in the exterior of the man’s house.

Investigators learned the man’s son met Dixon on Facebook several months before and considered her to be a great friend.

A dispute arose between the two after Dixon’s father died and he did not attend the funeral.

Dixon threatened to kill her friend and his father, sending text messages such as, “You know I have no problem with pulling up? You Wanna play?”

Other messages included more specific violent threats.

Investigators also found a text Dixon sent to her brother stating, “He talking about our daddy. I got his address. Easily.”

The man’s son told police he watched a black truck park in the lot across the street from his home. Several women, including Dixon, got out and approached the house after another car pulled up from Addison Way.

The man heard gunshots and saw the women run to the truck before both vehicles sped away.

Surveillance footage from a neighbor’s camera captured the vehicles approaching the home and fleeing shortly after gunshots were fired.

Police arrested Dixon the next day.

Dixon told police she was attending a benefit with her coworkers at the time of the shooting. Coworkers told police she had been at the event but that someone drove her home around 4:30 p.m. The driver told police Dixon was “feverishly” texting during the drive home.

Dixon is scheduled to appear in Washington County District Court March 21.

What started as a routine call for a St. Paul officer ended with him being “brutally assaulted,” the department’s assistant police chief said Thursday.

As the officer tried to take a 28-year-old into custody this week, the man struck the officer in the head eight times while wielding a key.

“He was essentially stabbing the officer in the head with the key,” said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman.

The officer was taken to Regions Hospital and required a staple to close a wound on his head, Linders said.

Police arrested Coni Lamark Shegog, 28, of St. Paul, on suspicion of felony assault on a peace officer.

The assault was the third on an officer in Minnesota in as many days.

On Monday, a woman allegedly tried to shoot a Minnesota State Patrol trooper in the head before he shot her in the arm near Moorhead. On Tuesday, a woman rammed her vehicle into the back of a trooper’s squad car in St. Paul and reached for his gun, according to a criminal complaint.

The St. Paul officer was injured on Wednesday when he responded to an apartment building on Cook Avenue near Westminster Street at about 1:30 p.m.

A 22-year-old woman reported she had an order for protection against a neighbor — who recently threatened her with a knife — but the neighbor had contact with her earlier in the day and allegedly wanted to fight her, Linders said.

Officer Dominic Dzik responded alone because the woman reported the neighbor was no longer there, Linders said. As he talked to the woman in the parking lot, a vehicle pulled in. She told Dzik the person in the passenger seat was the neighbor she had the protection order against.

Dzik went to talk to the people in the car and the driver, Shegog, began yelling at the officer, telling him to move his “(expletive) squad.” Dzik radioed for officers to come and back him up.

The officer went to the driver’s side “in an attempt to verbally try to calm Mr. Shegog down,” Linders said, but Shegog got out of the car.

Shegog continued screaming and cursing at the officer, advancing toward him. Dzik “tried to create distance, so he put his hand out against Shegog’s chest, but Shegog hit the officer’s arm away and yelled, ‘Don’t you (expletive) touch me,'” Linders said.

It continued several more times, with Shegog advancing and pushing the officer’s arm and hand away, Linders said.

When Dzik told Shegog he was under arrest and the man again struck the officer’s hand and arm, the officer deployed a short burst of chemical irritant, according to police.

Dzik tried to put Shegog in handcuffs, but the man swung at the officer and struck him on the top of his head multiple times while holding a key, Linders said.

“Officer Dzik did an outstanding job remaining calm, protecting himself against greater harm and keeping the suspect at the scene until other officers arrived,” Assistant Chief Kathy Wuorinen wrote in a message to police employees Thursday. “Even after backup arrived, the suspect continued to fight with officers. Then, even after he was taken into custody, he assaulted four other officers by spitting on them.”

Police also arrested the passenger in Shegog’s car, Erin Jeanetta Bohanon. The 25-year-old was cited for fifth-degree assault and obstructing legal process.

While Dzik was struggling with Shegog, Bohanon went over to the woman whom had a protection order against her and started swinging at her, Linders said.

Dzik, a St. Paul officer for 16 years, was released from the hospital after he was treated.

“This incident demonstrates the dangers our officers face on a daily basis,” Wuorinen wrote Thursday. “It’s important that the people we serve know this and understand what we know — even the most mundane calls can turn dangerous in an instant.”

The Ramsey County attorney’s office is reviewing the case against Shegog for potential charges.

A public search organized for an Eden Prairie man missing since Tuesday afternoon was canceled Thursday after a body was found.

Family and friends of Joseph Best, 52, were planning to gather at 2 p.m. at Pax Christi Church for the search, but that effort was called off shortly before it was about to begin, according to the Eden Prairie Police Department.

Investigators learned about noon Thursday that Best’s car had been impounded Tuesday afternoon. They conducted a search in that area and discovered a man’s body at 1:49 p.m. near the intersection of 173rd Street West and Valley View Drive in Sand Creek Township, according to the Scott County sheriff’s office.

Best was last seen about 12:20 p.m. Tuesday in southwest Eden Prairie.

Official identification of the body and the cause of death will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner.

Shortly after ramming her vehicle into the back of a squad car earlier this week, a Maplewood woman reached for the trooper’s gun and told him to shoot her, authorities say.

Andrea Elizabeth Perez, 47, now faces one count of first-degree assault against a peace officer, according to the criminal complaint filed against her Thursday in Ramsey County District Court.

Perez also was charged via warrant with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and attempting to disarm a peace officer.

The incident took place at 3:35 p.m. Tuesday when a trooper pulled over on the right shoulder of Interstate 35E at Arlington Avenue suddenly had another vehicle slam into him, court documents say.

Startled and experiencing pain in his back, the trooper got out of his vehicle to check on the condition of the driver of the Hyundai Sonata that had just hit him.

He found Perez hunched over her steering wheel with her airbag deployed. He asked her if she was alright, according to the complaint.

That’s when Perez, in a monotone voice, instructed him to shoot her, authorities say. The encounter is captured on video and audio on the trooper’s dash camera.

“You’re going to have to shoot me because this isn’t going to end well,” the woman said, according to legal documents.

When the trooper responded that there was no reason for anybody to shoot anybody, Perez told him that she had struck him intentionally and that she planned to shoot him if he didn’t act first, the complaint said.

“You tried to hit me on purpose,” the trooper asked her.

“Yes. This is not going to end well. I’m telling you now,” the woman responded before directing the trooper to “grab (his) gun,” the complaint said.

That’s when authorities say she began to reach for the trooper’s holstered pistol.

Two men who pulled over to assist stepped in and helped the trooper take the woman to the ground, where she was placed in handcuffs.

A witness of the incident told investigators that Perez appeared to deliberately swerve to hit the officer, the complaint said.

Video and audio of the crash captured on the trooper’s squad camera corroborates that account, authorities say.

The trooper sustained minor injuries in the crash and was taken to United Hospital for evaluation. Perez, who was uninjured but suspected of being under the influence of drugs at the time, was also transported.

She remains hospitalized, authorities say.

West St. Paul firefighters encountered her about a half hour earlier that day, said West St. Paul Police Lt. Brian Sturgeon.

Firefighters heading to a call noticed a white vehicle parked in the middle of a driveway shared by the fire and police departments, and it remained there when they returned, Sturgeon said. They tried talking to the driver, who was alone in the car.

“She stared straight ahead,” Sturgeon said. “Our understanding is that she did not acknowledge the firefighters and, after about 20 seconds, she fled out of the parking lot at a high rate of speed.”

Police checked the area, but didn’t find the driver.

Perez’ criminal history includes a seat belt violation and parking citation.

Perez declined to talk to investigators after her arrest, authorities say.

No attorney was listed for her in court records and she could not be immediately reached for comment.

A former lunchroom worker at Inver Grove Heights Middle School has pleaded guilty to sending nude photos of herself and sexually explicit texts to a student in 2014.

Krista Ann Muccio, 44, of Inver Grove Heights, pleaded guilty Thursday in Dakota County District Court to one felony count of communication with a minor describing sexual conduct.

Muccio, who was charged in March 2015, had challenged the constitutionality of the state’s “sexting” law, arguing the pictures and texts were free speech protected under the First Amendment. In March 2017, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed a state appeals court decision and ruled the law does not violate the Constitution.

“This statute was enacted for the important purpose of prohibiting sexually explicit speech directed at a child that is intended to cause sexual arousal,” Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom said in a Thursday statement. “We are pleased to bring Krista Muccio to justice for violating this law.”

Judge Kathryn Messerich on Thursday ordered a presentence investigation and set sentencing for April 6.

Muccio also was charged with one count of possession of pornographic work involving minors, a charge that Messerich will address at the April 6 sentencing, said Monica Jensen, spokeswoman for the county attorney’s office.

In November 2014, Muccio shared explicit photos with a 15-year-old boy through Instagram’s direct message feature and asked for “something in return,” prompting the student to share explicit photos with her, according to the criminal complaint.

The teenager had known Muccio as the lunch lady since the eighth grade, and she began communicating with him on Instagram in June 2014, the complaint said.

Inver Grove Heights police started investigating Muccio after the boy’s father found the photos saved to an iPad.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The driver of a pickup truck was drunk when he crashed into a van leaving a Minnesota Twins spring training game in Fort Myers, killing one woman and injuring 14 others, all from Minnesota, according to authorities in Florida.

Laureen VanReese, 18, of Andover, Minnesota, died at the scene of Tuesday’s crash after she was thrown from the van, which rolled over several times, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The 14 injured, including VanReese’s mother and a 4-year-old child, were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, according to the patrol’s report.

The van was heading back to Fort Lauderdale from Fort Myers when the crash occurred about 5:30 p.m. on a section of Interstate 75 known as Alligator Alley.

Law enforcement officers arrested the pickup driver, 30-year-old Nisbany Surit Garcias. Witnesses told police they saw Garcias driving recklessly in a black Ford pickup and that he nearly caused several wrecks in the southbound lanes of I-75 in the moments before the van crash.

The Highway Patrol said Garcias’ blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit at the time of the crash. He was booked into the Broward County Jail after he was treated for injuries at a hospital. Garcias faces charges that include DUI manslaughter and causing bodily injury.

A Pine City, Minn., man has been charged with several felonies after allegedly stealing a vehicle, causing a lockdown at the Forest Lake Walmart and leading authorities on two high-speed chases Monday.

Jesse Satter, 36, was charged with assaulting a peace officer, obstructing legal process, damage to property and drug possession in Chisago County. In Anoka County, he also was charged with fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, criminal vehicular operation resulting in substantial bodily harm, and theft of a motor vehicle.

The incident began about 3:40 a.m. Monday when Satter was spotted sitting in the passenger seat of a car at the Casey’s gas station in Wyoming, Minn.

Wyoming police officer Tony Zerwas saw the car exit the parking lot and shut off its headlights. He pulled the car over and saw that the passenger — later identified as Satter — was not wearing a seatbelt and had a glass bubble pipe with a burnt, white residue sticking out of his shoe; the pipe later tested positive for methamphetamine, the criminal complaint states.

Zerwas discovered that Satter had outstanding warrants for his arrest on first-degree drug sales in Isanti County and an active federal warrant.

A few minutes later, a caller to 911 reported a “suspect (was) threatening someone at gunpoint at Casey’s gas station,” the complaint states. Zerwas learned the call was placed from a cell phone number used by Satter.

When Forest Lake officer Tom Cockburn arrived to assist, Satter was ordered to exit the vehicle with his hands up. “Defendant did not comply with the command,” the complaint states. “Defendant also reached for his waistband.”

Officers tried to remove Satter from the car, but Satter kicked Zerwas in the chest and kicked a Taser out of Cockburn’s hands.

Officers shocked Satter with a Taser, but “this had little effect on him,” the complaint states. Satter then pulled back into the car, climbed into the driver’s seat, put the vehicle into reverse and rammed Zerwas’ squad car. The open passenger door on the car struck Zerwas.

Satter led officers on a chase that exceeded 100 mph through Columbus and Forest Lake.

At the roundabout at U.S. 61 and Broadway Avenue in Forest Lake about 4 a.m., Satter abandoned the car and ran.

Police put out a code-red text alert and a resident called police about 8:30 a.m. to report having seen Satter enter Walmart in Forest Lake. The store was evacuated, placed on lockdown for about 90 minutes and swept by police, but Satter was not found.

FINALLY CAUGHT IN LINO LAKES

About noon, a U.S. marshal saw Satter leaving a Forest Lake residence in a blue 2005 Cadillac. When officers stopped the car, the driver got out — as ordered — and Satter moved into the driver’s seat and took off toward Lino Lakes, according to the criminal complaint filed in Anoka County District Court.

The complaint states Satter reached speeds of 120 mph. At the intersection of Apollo Drive and Lake Drive in Lino Lakes, he ran a red light and hit a black Ford pickup truck. He then spun and struck a blue passenger car; the driver of the car suffered a chipped tooth and broken bones in her right hand and left toe, the complaint states.

Satter fled on foot, but was stopped by officers.

Satter told authorities he had hit his head, his neck was sore, and he had used methamphetamine that day.

According to the complaint, the owner of the Cadillac told officers that a friend asked him if he could meet Satter in Forest Lake and give him a ride. The man said that he did not know Satter had an outstanding warrant.

“When (Satter) noticed police behind him, he told the (man) that he would pay him $1,000 and asked to hide in his trunk,” the complaint states. “(He) did not agree. Instead, he stopped the car and complied with the commands of law enforcement.”

He told officers he did not give Satter permission to drive his car and was upset that he “took and then totaled his only car.”

Satter is being held in the Anoka County Jail; bail has been set at $100,000. He is scheduled to appear in Anoka County district court April 4.

Two of the four men accused of conspiring to steal more than $20 million from Starkey Hearing Technologies were reportedly found guilty Thursday.

A federal jury in Minneapolis convicted former Starkey president Jerry Ruzicka on eight counts of fraud, and Jeffrey Taylor, president of Starkey supplier Sonion, on three counts, according to a KSTP report.

Two other men charged in the embezzlement scheme were acquitted; former Starkey executive Scott Nelson pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in December.

Prosecutors alleged the defendants used a web of sham companies to collect bogus commissions and fees from the Eden Prairie-based hearing aid manufacturer over the course of nearly a decade, the KSTP report said.

Ruzicka, of Plymouth, was fired from the company in September 2015.

More than two dozen people are facing state and federal charges stemming from their alleged involvement in what authorities say was “a large heroin trafficking network” that brought drugs into northern Minnesota.

“This network has been responsible for bringing a near-constant supply of highly potent and highly addictive heroin into the city of Duluth and the surrounding communities of northeast Minnesota,” U.S. Attorney Gregory Brooker said Thursday during a news conference. Brooker said 12 people have been indicted on federal charges for their alleged roles in the distribution conspiracy.

St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin said 17 additional people are facing state charges in connection to the distribution network — 16 for first-degree sale of drugs and one for third-degree sale of drugs.

Duluth Police Lt. Jeff Kazel, commander of the Lake Superior Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force, said Thursday that the situation is “fluid,” and more arrests are expected.

The task force has spent more than a year investigating and building a case that resulted in the charges on Thursday, Rubin said, adding, “Today, we turn the tide.”

Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken warned Thursday, “The hard work by these incredibly dedicated law enforcement agencies, their deputies, officers and agents, has served notice on those who prey upon our community, suffering from the scourge of addiction. If you’re peddling poisons to our people, we are watching you, and we will hold you accountable for your actions.”

Brooker said that Carlos Nashun Coleman, 33, of Apple Valley, was the alleged main distributor in the network that brought heroin from Chicago to Northeastern Minnesota via the Twin Cities. Coleman has been indicted in federal court on one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and one count of distribution of heroin. Brooker pointed out that Coleman showed off his profits on social media in photos that included Rolex watches and cash.

Coleman and the other 11 people facing federal indictments spent years bringing heroin into northern Minnesota from Chicago, said Brooker. Coleman allegedly relied on a network of sub-distributors to sell heroin throughout the communities in northern Minnesota. Major exchange locations in the network included Duluth, Superior, Hermantown, Proctor, Virginia, Eveleth, Cloquet, Floodwood, Saginaw, Carlton, Iverson and Scanlon.

Tusken said it’s frustrating to know that another distributor moves in to fill the void whenever law enforcement disrupts a distribution network like it did on Thursday.

“As unfortunate as it is, we know that that’s a reality. I think that there’s a message that’s important for me to give to anyone who feels the need to fill that void. If you’re going to follow the footsteps of these defendants, please know, it will be you next. We have the expertise, determination, partnership and focus to interrupt, intercept and arrest anyone, anywhere who dares to come to this community and profit from bringing pain to our citizens.”

Tusken said addiction has been “unbelievably hard on our community.” In the past six years, Duluth has had 323 overdoses and 44 deaths due to overdoses. In the two years since Duluth police officers began carrying Narcan, an opioid overdose antidote, they have saved 56 people from an overdose death, Tusken said.

“The tears that are cried at funerals, the families who have been impacted through addiction, it’s just heartwrenching,” Tusken said. “Our families (who) have lost loved ones from addiction — we want you to know that we hear you. Our families (who) suffer in pain because of addiction, we want them to know that we hear you. We are doing everything we can to interrupt, intercept the source of supply for these deadly poisons before they reach the streets of Duluth, the communities and your families.”

Opioids are being “pushed” into communities across the country via distribution networks similar to the one that Coleman allegedly led in Minnesota, Brooker said.

“We all know too well how opioids have ruined lives and destroyed communities throughout our country, and Minnesota is, of course, not immune to this problem. It’s not just an urban or suburban Twin Cities problem. Our national opioid epidemic is affecting our cities, suburbs and rural communities all across the country and here in Minnesota,” Brooker said.

Others facing federal charges include:

Bernard Brandon Mims, 38, of Superior: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, 28 counts distribution of heroin, five counts possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Crystal Brooke Starstead, 35, of Superior: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, five counts distribution of heroin, four counts possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Cazembe Osie Franklin, 44, of Aurora: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, one count possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Kenneth Sky Quade, 24, address unknown: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, one count possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Daniel Albert Amatuzio Jr., 29, address unknown: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, three counts possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Benjamin Michael Woodbury, 27, address unknown: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, one count possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Damien Deandre Burnett, 33, address unknown: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, one count possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Lavina Nicole Shannon, 40, address unknown: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, one count possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Joseph Dante Williams, 28, address unknown: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, three counts possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Chevella Dawn Korkalo, 23, address unknown: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, one count possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Erin Marie Alhachem, 27, address unknown: one count conspiracy to distribute heroin, one count possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Agencies involved in the investigation included the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Duluth, Superior, Hibbing, Hermantown, Virginia and Fond du Lac police departments; and the St. Louis and Carlton county sheriff’s offices.

After sending a St. Paul police officer to the hospital with a gushing head wound, Coni Lamark Shegog bragged that he taught the cop a lesson, authorities say.

“I (expletive) him up. Straight up … He ain’t gonna try that (expletive) no more next time. I guarantee that,” Shegog said after repeatedly striking an officer in the head with his fists and a set of keys, authorities say. A short time later, the 28-year-old St. Paul man spat in the face of another officer as he sat in the back of a squad car.

Shegog was charged Friday with six counts of fourth-degree assault against a peace officer, according to the criminal complaint filed against him in Ramsey County District Court.

One of the counts alleges Shegog’s actions Wednesday caused “demonstrable bodily harm” to St. Paul Officer Dominic Dzik, who was taken to the hospital for treatment of a head-wound.

The other five charges accuse Shegog of unlawfully transferred bodily fluids onto police officers when he spat inside the squad car.

The incident began as a routine police call for Officer Dzik, who was called to an apartment building on Cook Avenue near Westminster Street in St. Paul about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

A 22-year-old woman at the scene reported that a neighbor violated an order for protection she had against his girlfriend earlier in the day.

Dzik responded alone because the woman reported the neighbor was no longer there. As he talked to the woman in the parking lot, a vehicle pulled in, police said, and the person she had the protection order against was in the passenger seat.

When Dzik went to talk to the people in the car, the driver, Shegog, began yelling at the officer, telling him to move his “(expletive) squad,” before exiting the vehicle.

Shegog then started screaming and yelling at the officer as his girlfriend apparently recorded the incident on his cell phone. At some point, Dzik reached his hand up and put it on Shegog’s chest in an effort to “create distance between them,” the complaint said.

Shegog responded by swatting the officer’s arm away and yelling, “ ‘Don’t you (expletive) touch me,’” according to the criminal complaint.

The combative behavior continued, according to the complaint, prompting the officer to eventually pull out his mace.

Spotting the chemical irritant, Shegog declared, “It’s on,” according to the complaint.

The officer told Shegog he was under arrest and needed to turn around and place his hands behind his back.

When Shegog refused, the officer sprayed his face with the chemical irritant and grabbed him by the waist to try and bring him to the ground, the complaint said.

That’s when Shegog started swinging at Dzik, repeatedly striking him on the top of his head with his fists and a set of keys, according to the complaint.

Other officers eventually arrived at the scene who helped arrest Shegog, according to the complaint.

Dzik, who had difficulty seeing due to the amount of blood seeping from his head, was taken to Regions Hospital, where doctors had to staple his head wound shut, according to the complaint.

When questioned by officers at the scene, Shegog said he fought Dzik because the officer had maced him.

He later spit in another officer’s face after he was placed in the squad car, the complaint said. His saliva allegedly struck several other officers who were assisting in his arrest at the time.

Shegog was scheduled to appear on the charges Friday afternoon. No attorney was listed for him in court records.

Shegog has no criminal record in Minnesota aside from two parking citations.

Shegog’s girlfriend, Erin Jeanetta Bohanon, also was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of fifth-degree assault and obstructing legal process.

The St. Paul City Attorney’s Office reviewed the case against her the following day but declined to charge her due to lack of sufficient evidence, according to an office spokeswoman.

After a 9-month-old St. Paul baby was found with broken ribs and a skull fracture on Thursday, police arrested the child’s mother’s boyfriend.

Eric Mercado Magana was booked into the Ramsey County jail on suspicion of felony assault. The Ramsey County attorney’s office is reviewing a case against the 21-year-old for potential charges.

The St. Paul city attorney’s office charged Magana on Friday with misdemeanor domestic assault against his 20-year-old girlfriend.

On Sunday, “they got into an argument over Facebook posts” and Magana punched her in the arm, “causing a significant bruise,” according to the criminal complaint.

On Thursday, the woman took her infant son to a doctor’s office, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman. Because of the severity of the baby’s injuries, he was taken by ambulance to Children’s Hospitals and Clinics in St. Paul.

Some of the baby’s rib fractures appeared to have occurred in previous weeks and others appeared newer, Ernster said. The infant also had a toe fracture, and bruising on his fingers and toes, according to police. The baby is reported to be in stable condition.

Police were looking to talk to Magana because the baby had been in his care when the injuries possibly occurred, Ernster said. Officers found Magana driving in the area of Larpenteur Avenue and Rice Street on Thursday, and took him into custody.

At police headquarters, Magana “explained the injuries as an accident, which did not match the significant level and number of injuries, including from different time frames,” Ernster said. Police arrested Magana.

During the investigation, police were told Magana recently assaulted his girlfriend, which led to the charge filed on Friday, Ernster said. Magana is being held in the Ramsey County jail. An attorney was not listed for him in the court record.

A woman is dead and a man is in custody following the report of a shooting Friday evening in the Greater East Side neighborhood of St. Paul.

The shooting report came in about 5:45 p.m. from the 1900 block of Cottage Avenue East, according to St. Paul police Sgt. Mike Ernster.

Officers arrived to find a woman with an apparent gunshot wound. St. Paul paramedics pronounced the woman dead.

Several witnesses were brought to the police station for questioning, Ernster said, and one of those people then was taken into custody as a suspect in the shooting.

The woman who was killed and the man suspected in her death were in a relationship and lived together in the home where the shooting occured, Ernster said. No other suspects are being sought.

There had been no previous police calls to that address in the past year, Ernster said.

A Lindstrom man is dead after a head-on collision in Linwood Township Friday night.

Shortly after 7 p.m., the Anoka County sheriff’s office responded to a two-vehicle accident in the 9400 block of Viking Boulevard.

Police suspect a 34-year-old Linwood Township woman driving west on Viking Boulevard in an SUV crossed the center line and struck a minivan traveling east.

The driver of the minivan, a 60-year-old man, was killed. His passenger — a 59-year-old woman — and the driver of the SUV were airlifted to area hospitals and were in critical condition Friday night, police said.

Police have not yet released the names of those involved.

Alcohol may have been a factor in a two-vehicle crash in Cass County that killed a 23-year-old woman about 6:30 p.m. Friday, police said.

Dani Rebecca Detloff of Backus was driving her 2005 Ford Taurus east on 16th Street in Powers Township when she pulled out from the stop sign and was struck by a Ford F-150 that was traveling south on Highway 371. She died at the scene.

Paul Linn Hamilton, 55, of Backus was driving the truck. He and his passenger, Jennifer Jane Hamilton, 56, of Backus, had been drinking, according to the Minnesota State Police report. They were not injured.

All three were wearing seatbelts, and road conditions were dry. Traffic on Highway 371 has the right of way.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department and the Pine River Police responded to the scene, along with fire departments from Backus and Hackensack.

Nine members of an Illinois basketball team were injured Saturday night when their bus driver had a medical episode that caused an accident, according to state police.

A coach bus was transporting the Highland Community College basketball team back to Freeport, Ill., from a game at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, N.D. The team was traveling east on Interstate 94 near St. Michael in Wright County around 6:45 p.m. when the driver had an unknown medical issue.

The bus crashed into the median and traveled for about a quarter of a mile, striking trees and a freeway sign. It swerved back onto the road and then returned to the ditch, where it came to rest, the report said.

The bus driver was transported to North Memorial Hospital with non life-threatening injures. Five occupants were transported to Monticello Hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Four additional occupants were injured but did not require transport to the hospital.

Assisting the Minnesota State Police on scene were the Wright County Sheriff’s Office along with the St. Michael and Monticello fire departments.

Authorities have arrested a 37-year-old Minneapolis man in Florida in connection with the shooting death of another man in Minneapolis.

Antwan Darnell Cosey is in custody on suspicion of second-degree murder, according to the Minneapolis Police Department, which gave the following details of the crime and subsequent arrest:

About 6:10 p.m. Feb. 27, officers responded to reports of a shooting on the 700 block of 18th Street East in Minneapolis.

They arrived to find Frankie Golden, 42, unresponsive outside the building with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Witnesses said Golden was waiting outside the building to visit his 9-month-old child. He was speaking on his cellphone when Cosey allegedly approached him and ordered him to move out of the way.

An argument ensued and Cosey allegedly pulled a gun out of his waistband, shooting Golden before running away.

Cosey, who lived at a halfway house nearby, was identified as a suspect based on surveillance video and witness accounts. Police soon learned he had purchased a bus ticket to Texas on March 3.

With the help of authorities in Florida, Cosey was arrested Friday night when his bus arrived at a Greyhound bus station in Fort Walton Beach, police say.

He was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail, where he is being held pending extradition.