View Search Warrants into Investigation of Infant Left At Duluth Shelter

FOX 21 provides the signed warrants and sworn affidavits from department's search of Safe Haven

DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth’s Chief of Police Mike Cenoywa released a video statement Wednesday regarding two search warrants that were executed at a shelter operated by Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center on Jan. 21.

According to the two warrant applications sworn to by Officer Ryan Puhle, and warrants signed by Judge Shawn Reed, officers responded to a call from Shelter Director Ethan Powers who reported that a baby was left outside the shelter in a basket. When officers requested to view exterior cameras to identify who left the child, the shelter said they would need to obtain a warrant with a judge’s approval, according to the affidavit

When officers returned with the first warrant on Jan. 22, Executive Director Brittany Robb “denied its validity and required that the language in this warrant specifically articulate the need for security footage to be turned over to police,” according to the affidavit. While Robb would not let police retrieve copies of the footage, she did allow them to review exterior cameras at the shelter.

Officer Puhle wrote in his affidavit, that during his review of the footage, “The unidentified woman in question came into the facility.”

Puhle  interviewed Powers “who stated that a staff member spoke with this woman and was told that she couldn’t care for the child and then left this child in the care of Safe Haven staff.”

Officer Puhle wrote in his affidavit that after receiving that information he “knows the child was left inside the facility and not outside in the cold as originally reported.” Puhle also stated, “The surrendering of this child did not meet the requirement of M.S.S 145.902 and the identity of the woman was not protected information.”

Puhle stated the address of the shelter is protected, and the facility has strong security measures; but “upon reviewing the camera footage, this woman was immediately let into the building.” Puhle claimed, “This would give strength to the belief that this was a known person to Safe Haven staff members.”

Judge Shawn Reed signed the second search warrant approximately three hours after signing the first. The second warrant was far more expansive, including both interior and exterior camera footage from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 21; “All computers, cameras, recording devices, and other electronics” related to the child’s surrendering; “All files, records, reports, both physical and digital” related to the surrendering; as well as the “employee registry or documentation showing the names of all employees who were working in any capacity at Safe Haven Shelter” on the day of the incident.

A receipt for this second search warrant indicates “security camera recordings” and “names of employees working” on the date of the incident.

FOX 21 contacted DPD’s Public Information Officer Mattie Hjelseth, to clarify claims from the affidavit. Puhle’s sworn statements claim, that Powers was the one who reported finding the infant outside; but then in a later interview, Powers told Puhle the baby was given to a staff member inside the shelter. 

Hjelseth replied, “the affidavit is correct and Chief Ceynowa’s statement re-iterates that.”

Warrant applications and warrants themselves are public data. The warrant documents from this incident are linked in the article; however, FOX 21 has made the editorial decision to remove the shelter’s address from the copies provided.

From Safe Haven:

When reached for comment over the phone, on Friday Jan. 31, Brittany Robb said she could not comment on specific incidents that occur at the shelter.

“I can’t comment on any specific circumstances, that have been, you know, with or around our shelter or, you know, any of the folks that might be seeking our services. But what I can say is we always encourage people who are struggling to reach out for help in the way that feels the safest for them. And then we’re always happy to help connect them with the appropriate service provider, if that’s not us.”

In an email, following the publication of FOX 21’s initial story, Robb added an additional comment regarding the shelter’s position on protecting the information of the individuals they serve and their staff.

“The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) prohibits our agency from sharing information without the consent of the individual for whose privacy we are responsible to protect. There are limited situations in which we must break confidentiality, one of them being a judicial warrant. Safe Haven was issued two judicial warrants; we complied with both as written, and at no point was the validity of either warrant denied. It’s unfortunate that in law enforcement’s application they were not truthful.”