Crime

Minnesota BCA Provides More Details in Fatal Duluth Standoff

DULUTH, Minn. – On Tuesday, The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension provided more updates on the nearly 20-hour standoff that took place last week in Duluth including the identities of law enforcement personnel who used force in the incident. According to the Minnesota BCA, Duluth police officers responded to a call from a third party about a possible physical domestic…

Growing Tension in Minneapolis As Trial Looms In Floyd Death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Barbed wire and concrete barriers surround the courthouse where the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd is due to soon go on trial. It’s a sign of the deep uneasiness hanging over the city where violence erupted after the Black man’s death and protests reverberated around the world. Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov, Tim…

Ex-Cop Appeals Murder Conviction to Minnesota Supreme Court

(Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The former Minneapolis police officer convicted of third-degree murder in the 2017 fatal shooting of an Australian woman is asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to take his case. Mohamed Noor is seeking to have his conviction in the death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond overturned after a Court of Appeals panel upheld…

Female Victim Identified in Rice Lake Hit-And-Run Incident

RICE LAKE, Minn. – The female victim of Tuesday night’s hit-and-run crash in Rice Lake has been identified. According to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia E. Berger, 68, remains hospitalized in stable condition with serious injuries. The Sheriff’s Office says Berger sustained a life-threatening head injury when she was struck by a white SUV on Arnold Road around…

Appeals Court to Weigh 3rd-Degree Murder Charge for Chauvin

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals has agreed to consider a prosecutors’ request to reinstate a third-degree murder charge against the fired Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death. Jury selection begins March 8 for Derek Chauvin, who is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. The appeals court set oral arguments for March 1 on the question…

70-Year-Old Pedestrian Struck By Hit-And-Run Driver

Victim was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

RICE LAKE, Minn. – A pedestrian was fighting for her life Tuesday night after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in Rice Lake. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office says the 70-year-old woman was struck by an SUV around 4:30 p.m. on the 5000 block of Arnold Road. She was hospitalized with a life-threatening head injury. The 33-year-old male driver…

Seven Arrested, Charged in Itasca County Human Trafficking Operation

ITASCA COUNTY, Minn. – On Friday, seven people were arrested and charged during a human trafficking operation in Itasca County. According to the Itasca County Attorney’s Office, a three-day operation led by investigators with the BCA Human Trafficking Task Force in partnership with the TRUST Task Force and the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office led to the arrests. According to a…

Man Arrested for Shots Fired Incident in Cloquet

CLOQUET, Minn. – A Roseville man was arrested early Friday morning at a Cloquet apartment complex after the man fired several gunshots inside one of the building’s apartments. According to the Cloquet Police Department, officers responded to a disturbance at 1535 Sahlman Avenue around 4:17 a.m. Reports state when the first officer arrived on the scene they encountered a man…

Minneapolis To Spend $6.4M To Recruit More Police Officers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minneapolis will spend $6.4 million to hire dozens of police officers, even as some City Council members and activist groups are advocating to replace the police department following George Floyd’s death. The council voted unanimously on Friday to approve the additional funding, which was requested by police. The department says it only has 638 officers available to…

Appeals Court Says It Won’t Step in to Delay Derek Chauvin Trial

(from left, Derek Chauvin, Tuo Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng) MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The Minnesota Court of Appeals said Friday it will not step in and delay the upcoming murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin is scheduled to go to trial on March 8. State prosecutors, led by…

Officials: Chauvin Was Ready to Plead to 3rd-Degree Murder

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was prepared to plead guilty to third-degree murder in George Floyd’s death before then-Attorney General William Barr personally blocked the plea deal last year. Two law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the talks say the deal would have averted any potential federal charges, including a civil rights offense, as part of…

Charges Filed: Man Shot Staff One by One in Minnesota Medical Clinic Attack

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man who shot five staff members at a Minnesota health clinic this week shot two of them in the reception area before heading back to where patients are treated and shooting three others, including a medical assistant and mother of two who died of her wounds, authorities say in the criminal charges filed Thursday. Gregory Paul…

Update: 1 Dead, 4 Hurt in Minnesota Health Clinic Shooting; Man Held

BUFFALO, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say one person is dead and four others are wounded in a shooting at a Minnesota health clinic. A 67-year-old local man said to have been angry with the care he received was arrested. The five people were taken to hospitals after Tuesday’s attack at the Allina clinic in Buffalo, a community of about 15,000…

Update: 5 Wounded in Minnesota Clinic Attack; Local Man Arrested

BUFFALO, Minn. (AP) –Authorities say five people were shot and wounded in an attack at a Minnesota health clinic and that they arrested a 67-year-old local man. The five people were taken to hospitals after Tuesday’s attack at the Allina clinic in Buffalo, a community of about 15,000 people roughly 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Kelly Spratt, the president of…

St. Louis County Attorney: Use of Deadly Force Justified in Mt. Iron Officer-Involved Shooting

MT. IRON, Minn. – The St. Louis County Attorney’s Office has ruled that the use of deadly force was justified in a December officer-involved shooting in Mt. Iron. The ruling is in connection to a December 5, 2020 incident, when Deputy Ryan Smith and Deputy Matt Tomsich were involved in a shooting that killed 19-year-old Estavon Dominick Elioff. According to…

Duluth Police Investigating Wednesday Drive-By Shooting Incident

DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth police say they are investigating a Wednesday morning drive-by shooting incident. The incident happened around 9:52 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 53 and Piedmont Avenue. According to police, after speaking with the reporting party of the incident officers learned that a gray passenger car traveling up Highway 53 fired three shots at another gray passenger…

Minnesota Prosecutors Ask to Reinstate Charge in Floyd Death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota prosecutors are asking a judge to reinstate one count that had been previously dismissed against the former Minneapolis officer charged with killing George Floyd — saying an appellate court decision from earlier this week shows the count can apply. Derek Chauvin faces trial in March on one count of second-degree murder and one count of manslaughter….

Cloquet Man Pleads Not Guilty to Manslaughter Charges

CLOQUET, Minn. – A Cloquet man charged with the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old last month in Brevator Township pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter in court on Monday. According to reports, Joseph James Fohrenkam, 18, allegedly shot and killed Joseph James Peterson, 16, on the night of December 28 while drinking in his truck with friends and “waving a…

Court Upholds Minneapolis Cop’s Conviction in Damond Case

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld a former Minneapolis police officer’s murder conviction in the 2017 shooting death of an unarmed woman who had dialed 911. Mohamed Noor is serving 12 1/2 years in the death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, whom he shot once in the stomach when she approached his patrol car in the alley behind…

Prosecutors Appeal Ruling That Split Trials in Floyd’s Death

(from left, Derek Chauvin, Tuo Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors in Minnesota have appealed a judge’s ruling that split the trials of four Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death and kept the first trial scheduled to start in March. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill ruled earlier in January that Derek Chauvin, the…

Duluth Officer Charged In Shooting Wants Case Dismissed, County Attorney Disagrees

2015 photo on City of Rosemount’s website congratulating Officer Tyler Leibfried on his new job with the Duluth Police Department. DULUTH, Minn. – St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin is opposing a Duluth police officer’s request to dismiss charges against him in a shooting that injured an unarmed man. Tyler Leibfried, 28, is facing two felony firearm charges, including one…

Judge Denies Request to Delay Cop’s Trial in Floyd’s Death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota judge says he won’t reconsider his decision to hold a March trial for the former Minneapolis police officer who held his knee to George Floyd’s neck as the man said he couldn’t breathe. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill ruled this month that Derek Chauvin will stand trial beginning March 8, as scheduled, and will be…