The Cities Category Archive: Courts

911 calls from a very dark night

Posted at 3:21 PM on May 11, 2012 by Brandt Williams (1 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Minneapolis

Last week, a jury of seven men and five women found Amy Senser guilty of two out of three charges of criminal vehicular homicide. They reached those verdicts after nearly 20 hours of deliberation. However, right before they delivered the verdicts in court, the jury's forewoman, Shana Ford, wrote this note to judge Daniel Mabley.

Mabley did not allow it to be read in court.

I emailed Senser's defense lawyer, Eric Nelson, to ask him if he will use this when he files an appeal. Senser's defense was based on her contention that she didn't know she struck someone. Nelson wrote back and said he'll file post trial motions next week, but didn't say if the note from the jury will be grounds for an appeal.

The note is one of many pieces of evidence from the trial now available to the public. The court has also released copies of the 911 calls from three people who discovered 38-year-old Anousone Phanthavong's body, just minutes after he was struck by Senser. The collision occurred on the exit ramp from I-94 westbound to Riverside Ave. just after 11 p.m. on Aug. 23 last year.

The first call was made by Brian Gutterman, a registered nurse who on his way to work. He tells the operator it's very dark. There were no working overhead lights on the exit ramp that night. And Gutterman says he can't tell if the man lying on the ground is dead or alive. You can hear him call out to Phanthavong to make sure he's OK. Gutterman testified that he touched Phanthavong's body and it felt cool. He guessed Phanthavong had been dead for just a few minutes.

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The second call was made by Maria Moralez. Moralez became distressed when she began to realize that the man she saw lying on the exit ramp was probably dead.

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(Note: An earlier version of this post included Maria Moralez' phone number, which we edited out to protect her privacy.)

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St. Paul goofed in awarding lofts contract, court says

Posted at 4:13 PM on May 7, 2012 by Laura Yuen (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Housing, St. Paul

The city of St. Paul illegally awarded a contract to a construction firm when it allowed the contractor to change its bid, a violation of the city's own competitive bidding laws, a state appellate court ruled today.

The three-judge panel says the city's contract with Shaw-Lundquist Associates on Lowertown's Lofts at Farmers Market project is void. That part of the ruling reverses a lower court's decision in a lawsuit filed last year by Rochon Corp., one of the losing bidders.

But at this point, it's more complicated than just switching contractors. The five-story lofts project is finished, and all 58 units are rented out, says City Attorney Sara Grewing. The city plans to appeal the decision.

"We don't believe the Court of Appeals got the law exactly right," Grewing says.

In issuing the ruling, Judge Kevin Ross noted that Shaw-Lundquist appeared to be the clear winner when St. Paul opened the sealed bids to construct the lofts project in late 2010. Shaw bid at $7.3 million. The second-lowest bid went to Rochon Corp., at $8.7 million.

But the next day, Shaw informed the city it had discovered a mathematical error in its spreadsheet and asked to withdraw the bid. For one of the items, it meant to type in the correct amount of $688,000, but left off a zero, and indicated only $68,800 -- a difference of $619,200. Oops. If you were to add that $688,000 to the rest of the bid, it would raise the total to around $7.9 million.

The city asked Shaw if it would would submit a modified bid. The city refused to hold a rebid, saying a delay would jeopardize funding, according to court documents.

Shaw-Lundquist replaced its old bid with one for $8 million -- some $89,000 higher than what the original bid would have been without the clerical error -- but still lower than the Rochon bid.

"The city allowed Shaw-Lundquist to change its bid not only to fix its error but also to add another $89,211, giving it both cake and icing," Ross wrote. "The appearance of both folly and favortism arise."

Ross also said when Shaw-Lundquist modified the bid, it knew the next lowest bid, "allowing it to make its correction fully aware of how much it could increase its bid while yet retaining its place in the ranking."

The court ruled that Rochon was entitled to declaratory judgment. The city has already paid the firm about $34,000 to cover the costs to prepare the bid.

Attorney Dean Thomson, who is representing Rochon, said the appellate court's decision preserves the integrity of the public bidding process.

"The court made it quite clear you can't play games with bids after the fact," he said. "You can't let illegal conduct go forward, under the theory it's somehow good for the citizens. It's not."

Legal squabbling over the Lowertown site, across from the downtown farmers market, is nothing new. For years, the site languished as a hole in the ground while contractors, the developers and the city bickered over the contract. In 2011, Mayor Chris Coleman singled out the project as part of a new initiative called "Rebuild St. Paul."

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Hennepin County weapons screening finds knives, box cutters

Posted at 9:14 AM on May 1, 2012 by Madeleine Baran (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Suburbs

Here's what didn't make it into Hennepin County court facilities last week:

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office released the photo to show the results of its first week of weapons screening at court facilities in Brooklyn Park, Edina, and Minnetonka.

Hennepin County installed weapons screening equipment and began screening for weapons at the three locations on April 23.

The Sheriff's Office "had urged the added safety measure due to violent incidents and threats that have occurred statewide and nationwide in courthouses," according to a news release.

The enhanced screening comes four months after a shooting at the Cook County courthouse that left three people injured.

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Legal decision has attorneys talking

Posted at 5:14 PM on March 30, 2012 by Jessica Mador (33 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Housing, Minneapolis

MPR News received a tip about a complicated story involving an attorney, a judge and the state's foreclosure laws.

U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz has taken the unusual step of sanctioning Minneapolis attorney William Butler for filing what the judge calls frivolous show-me-the-note actions. That's where a homeowner facing foreclosure argues that because the mortgage and note are held by different entities, the home's mortgage or foreclosure on that mortgage is invalid.

Separating the note from the mortgage contributed to the practice of mortgage securitization, one culprit in the housing bubble and crash.

Some courts in other states have ruled in favor of homeowners in cases like these. But here, Judge Schiltz says it's been established under Minnesota law (he references Jackson v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.) that the entity that holds the mortgage can foreclose on the mortgage even if that entity does not also hold the note. Showing the note is not necessary under foreclosure by advertisement, which is how most of Minnesota's foreclosures are processed.

Butler, of Butler Liberty Law, LLC, brought nearly 30 of such cases on behalf of several hundred people and apparently never won.

Among other things, Judge Schiltz alleges Butler solicited homeowners facing foreclosure for frivolous cases and then "judge shopped" for sympathetic judges while his cases dragged on for months, allowing him to collect fees from clients and allowing those clients to continue living in their homes rent-free.

As punishment, the court ordered Butler to pay a $50,000 penalty and cover attorneys fees for some of the largest firms representing clients like GMAC Mortgage, Deutsche Bank, The Bank of New York and others. People familiar with the case expect these penalties to rise well into the six figures. Butler also risks losing his license to practice law.

Minneapolis attorney Daniel Tyson has been handling real estate and foreclosure cases for decades. He declined to comment on the specifics of Butler's cases mentioned in the judge's order. But he says it's clear the judge's ruling was intended to send a message.

"The amount of the sanction is high and the judge wanted to teach this attorney a lesson that his behavior wasn't appropriate and if he's going to start a lawsuit and bring it into federal court or any court it has to be based upon proper claims, and in this case the judge determined that the show-me-the-note claim was not appropriate for this particular matter before him."

Other attorneys I spoke to about this case agreed the judge's order is severe.
Judge Schiltz is known for being conservative but fair-minded.

Tyson says he hopes the decision won't deter other attorneys from bringing foreclosure cases forward.

"I'd hope that the decision does not have a chilling effect on bringing claims which are properly brought by consumers and their attorneys. That would be an unfortunate result of this claim because there are many appropriate claims and appropriate situations - in particular in this foreclosure area - where bad things were done. That is what the robo-signing cases were all about, that is why there are sanctions and that is why we've got a nationwide settlement with the major banks, because things were not done properly," said Tyson. "I'm hoping it doesn't have a chilling effect on the ability to bring these. And I don't think it will because this was a very limited situation where this individual attorney was using wrong methods and for those clients out there and those attorneys out there who have right claims and good claims to try to prevent foreclosures, that should be brought they should be able to bring them. That is our system."

Butler didn't provide a comment in time for this post, but says he plans to appeal the judge's decision.

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Hennepin County sheriff pushing hard for more courtroom security

Posted at 1:00 PM on January 13, 2012 by Brandt Williams (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Minneapolis

I just finished a story that focused on the possibility that Hennepin County will increase security measures at three suburban court buildings. This morning, a source sent me copies of letters exchanged between Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek and Chief Judge James Swenson. Stanek, who has repeatedly called for metal detectors at all court facilities, writes to Swenson that he has an interim security solution, but doesn't offer details. In a letter dated Jan. 6, Stanek asks for a standing order from the court to require screening or a change to the county's security policies. However, that change would have to be approved by the Hennepin County Board.

Swenson replied five days later that while he agreed with Stanek that screening should be extended to all court buildings, he didn't think a court order was necessary. But Swenson said he would be willing to sign such an order, provided that the sheriff offered assurances that his office can "provide additional safety at the suburban locations without diverting resources already committed to court security elsewhere."

Hennepin County Board chair Mike Opat says he expects to the board to see Stanek's proposal sometime next week.

Also here's a breakdown for how much the county spends each year on weapons screening. The numbers cover personnel costs, equipment maintenance for the metal detectors. But they don't include the costs for Sheriff's deputies who also provide security throughout court buildings.

Government Center: $895,000
Family Justice Center: $150,000
Juvenile Justice Center: $240,000
Public Safety Center (also known as the jail - but it contains three courtrooms): $325,000

County officials say it will be hard to estimate how much it will cost to add screening to the three suburban courthouses because some of the buildings have multiple entrances.

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Embattled St. Paul landlord is a social worker

Posted at 3:23 PM on January 12, 2012 by Curtis Gilbert (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Housing, Livability, St. Paul

A court has ruled Peggy Chun can't manage two St. Paul apartment buildings. But is she qualified to be a social worker?

Until today, Chun was listed on the website of New Brighton-based Nystrom & Associates as "a social worker in the ARMHS [Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services] department with a background of working Serious and Persistent Mental Health diagnosis."

Chun and her husband Randall own a pair of run-down buildings that house some 60 low-income families.

One of the Chuns' buildings. (MPR Photo/Jeff Thompson)

Ramsey County Judge John Guthmann ruled yesterday that he would appoint a receiver to take over managing the properties, which city inspectors have cited with about 600 housing code violations. The ruling was part of a foreclosure lawsuit against the Chuns.

Peggy Chun did not respond to an interview request. Neither did Nystrom & Associates, but Chun's profile on the site disappeared today. Luckily I printed a copy earlier in the week.

Chun was listed as joining the private, Christian counseling firm in 2010. The page said she holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of St. Thomas.

One thing Chun doesn't have is a license to practice social work in the state on Minnesota. She has applied for a license, but does not currently hold one, according to the Minnesota Board of Social Work.

In general, you can't even call yourself a social worker in Minnesota, unless you have a license, although there's an exception for social workers employed by government agencies.

Our NewsCut blog had a fascinating discussion yesterday about whether Chun's husband Randall should be held to a higher standard because he works as a researcher for the Minnesota House of Representatives. But what are the ethics rules for social workers?

"Social workers should advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and should promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice,"according to the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics

Linda Jones, who teaches ethics at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work, says social workers are should hold themselves to those standards, even outside of their professional practice.

"It's very hard to behave unethically in your business and turn around and behave ethically with people in your professional life," Jones said.

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A touchy subject

Posted at 1:09 PM on October 13, 2011 by Brandt Williams (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Minneapolis

U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank ruled Wednesday that two Minneapolis police officers illegally strip-searched Recardo Meeks during a traffic stop in 2009. In writing up the broadcast spots on the details of the incident, I bumped into some MPR News language standards. What you hear on the air is sanitary, but accurate.

I've posted the full ruling below so you can read all the not-appropriate-for-air details yourself.

Meeks.FedCt.GrantSumJudgment.pdf

Meeks' attorney Andrew Muller says it's possible the city will settle the suit before it goes to a jury trial scheduled for December. He says now that Frank has ruled that the officers' actions violated Meeks' civil rights, the next step is for a jury to decide how much harm was caused by the officer's actions. In a civil lawsuit, a jury can award monetary damages. City Attorney Susan Segal says she will not comment on the case because it is still in front of the court.

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Bringing the microphone inside Stillwater Prison

Posted at 3:32 PM on October 3, 2011 by Sasha Aslanian (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime

Today, All Things Considered will broadcast a story recorded inside Stillwater Prison, Minnesota's fabled prison that houses 1,500 Level 4 offenders (not quite the worst).

MPR News was able to record 15 men in a far-ranging conversation about their lives, their families, their communities and their crimes.

This unusual assignment originated from some reporting during the state government shutdown when prison visits were cancelled. That meant the non-profit group Amicus, which has befriended inmates for 45 years, wouldn't be able to send in its volunteers for visits, or hold group meetings like the Connections group that meets monthly in Stillwater.

Amicus Senior V.P. Russel Balenger was disappointed. He couldn't remember a time when Amicus couldn't go in. He told me when the shutdown was over, I should come to the Connections group. He didn't have to offer twice.

I'd never been inside Stillwater Prison. The security screening's tougher than going to the airport. A guard searched the inside of my shoes with her latex-gloved hand before we were allowed in. Even the Department of Corrections communications staffer had to be searched.

Once inside the clanking gates, an inmate in one of the cell blocks waved to Balenger.

We walked down the hall to a room that could have been a college seminar room, except it had a window for a guard to keep an eye on us. I waited with Balenger, Amicus volunteer Steve Linney, MPR photographer Jeffrey Thompson, and Sarah Russell from DOC for the men to arrive.

We'd be outnumbered by the inmates. How long would it take for the guard to intervene if there was a problem? I was nervous.

The men arrived, seeming relaxed and happy. They'd clearly been looking forward to their monthly break from the cell block. They explained that they live in different areas of the prison so it's a chance to see friends they don't normally get to see. This is a place where they can, in the words of inmate David Islam, in for murder since 1993, "tell it like it is."

The tables were arranged in a square. I climbed into the middle so I could wheel around to record each of them as they spoke. At one point, as they were talking, I thought, "I'm in a circle of murderers. And I'm not scared."

Today's story focuses on the men's connections with the outside world. New unpublished research from the Department of Corrections found having visitors reduces the likelihood of re-offending. Amicus works to foster positive social relationships for inmates who might otherwise have no one.

Most of these men will get out. One's already gotten out since I recorded the group Sept.13. They're planning for that day. Will they be ready to remake their lives?

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FBI: No book yet by agent who investigated Moussaoui

Posted at 1:49 PM on September 29, 2011 by Laura Yuen (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Minneapolis

Newsweek's recent in-depth look at what went wrong at FBI's headquarters prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks drew heavily on the perspective of Minneapolis agent Harry Samit. The FBI is now taking issue with at least one fact reported in the article: Special Agent Samit has not written a tell-all book about the Zacarias Moussaoui case, according to a bureau spokesman.

Samit arrested the now-convicted 9/11 conspirator on Aug. 16, 2001. Samit has been barred from granting interviews to the media -- or at least to me, over the past couple of years.

Imagine our surprise when Newsweek cited what it described as an "excerpt of a book he's written about the case." An account of Samit's arrest and interview of Moussaoui was published in the William Mitchell Law Review.

But FBI spokesman Kyle Loven in Minneapolis emailed me to say there's no book -- at least not yet:

Apparently, the Newsweek article is incorrect. SA Samit has not written a book on the Moussaoui matter. Will he write a book in the future - perhaps. However, SA Samit's article was written exclusively for the William Mitchell College of Law - Law Journal. It was not an excerpt from any book which he has already written.

Samit's account does not criticize FBI brass, but focuses solely on the two days that Samit and fellow agent John Wess conducted exclusive interviews with Moussaoui after arresting him on an immigration violation.

Moussaoui told the agents he wanted to "follow his dream" of flying a big airplane and was incensed that he could not resume his training. But once the agents began to accuse him of lying, Moussaoui's reaction was not consistent with the anger typically displayed by someone who is telling the truth, Samit wrote:

"Despite the histrionics and gestures, Moussaoui was in full control of himself -- his muscles were not tense, his jaw was not clenched, and his eyes were alert and continually searching ours to see whether we were being persuaded. In short, he was not really mad -- he was lying."

Samit's recounting, which reads like a cross between a standard FBI memo and a novel, offers details into how the agents tried to get the French national to admit the hijacking plot and cough up information that could help authorities thwart an attack.

The agents did not succeed.

But Moussaoui eventually pleaded guilty to conspiring with the 9/11 hijackers. He is serving a life sentence in prison.

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Deportations fall in Minnesota: fewer criminals, zero terrorists in 2011

Posted at 4:37 PM on September 9, 2011 by Sasha Aslanian (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Immigration

The folks at TRAC (Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University) are out with a new state-by-state breakdown of deportation proceedings in the Immigration Courts.

You can see a nifty graph of deportations in Minnesota since 1992 (388 people), which increased almost 10-fold in 2009 to 3709. Numbers have fallen off slightly since then.

The national picture shows the increase in deportations since 9/11, although those brought up on terrorism or national security charges -- always a small number -- have fallen.

"But a comparison of the kinds of deportation proceedings in both the pre-and-post 9/11 periods documents that the actual numbers of those aimed at criminals, national security threats and terrorists have all declined rather than increased. On the other hand, the total number of those charged with purely immigration violations has sharply increased -- 1.2 million before the attacks, 1.9 million after."

The data also show "the number of deportation proceedings initiated against individuals charged with criminal activity has dropped by 22 percent during the last 12 months."

The Obama administration's stated goal has been to focus on deporting criminals.

According to this data, Minnesota brought deportation proceedings against 1 person on terrorism or national security charges in 2010 (from the Phillippines), but most years there were zero. 2001 was the high point, with two: one from Liberia and one from Somalia.

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Judge Twitter

Posted at 4:46 PM on September 8, 2011 by Brandt Williams (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime

Judge Peter Cahill (@JudgeCahill) may be the first in the Fourth Judicial District, Hennepin County, to actively use Twitter for official business. Cahill is presiding over the Mahdi Hassan Ali triple homicide trial, which is still in the jury selection phase. The process started earlier this week with a pool of 50 jurors. Each one has to be questioned individually by both defense and prosecuting attorneys. Since they can't fit everybody in on one day, Cahill tweets messages to let prospective jurors know when they need to report for questions.

Today in the courtroom, defense attorney Fred Goetz asked a prospective juror if he used Facebook. The older gentlemen replied that it was real new to him and he didn't think he liked it. Then the man turned to Judge Cahill and said, "But I enjoy your tweeter."

Testimony in the trial is scheduled to begin next week.

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Haunted by past, Neeley faces more prison time

Posted at 5:00 PM on August 23, 2011 by Brandt Williams (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime

On March 24, MPR broadcast an interview with Terrence Neeley and his sister Helena. The two (pictured at right - photo by Steve Mullis) spoke out against the gun violence that took their younger sister Alisha in 2010. Neeley was in prison serving a sentence for a violent crime at the time of his sister's killing.

Neeley told All Things Considered host Tom Crann that he still fights the impulse to seek revenge against the person who killed his sister. But he says he's smarter now and non-violent.

However, Neeley didn't tell Crann that a few weeks before the interview, on March 5th, he was arrested by Minneapolis police for possessing a .45 caliber handgun. According to court records, Neeley was released without charges. But a few months later, federal law enforcement officials built a case against Neeley and had him arrested and jailed. In July, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted and given the maximum sentence, Neeley will spend another 10 years in prison.

Neely's trial is scheduled to start September 19th. The court record contains a three-page, handwritten letter from Neeley to the magistrate judge, asking him for a conditional, pre-trial release. Neeley says he wants to continue his anti-violence advocacy and take care of his family. In the letter, Neeley talks about how gun violence has affected his life. In addition to losing his younger sister to a shooting, Neeley writes that he himself was shot in the back of the neck in 2009.

Neeley ends his letter with this:

"I don't run from my problems. I face them all as I am the creator of them all. But I hate how a past can haunt one. I have a future so bright that it burns my eyes to look at it. Sincerely your honor, please give me the chance and opportunity."

This Friday, Aug. 26th, at 2 p.m. Neeley will appear in front of Magistrate Judge Tony Leung in St. Paul for a hearing that will determine if Neeley stays in jail before his trial, or goes home.

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Annual StandDown for veterans this week

Posted at 4:29 PM on August 1, 2011 by Jessica Mador (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Housing, Minneapolis, St. Paul , Veterans

An annual event designed to help homeless and at-risk military veterans happens this week at Fort Snelling. The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans' StandDown offers free assistance with VA and other benefits, psychological counseling, legal assistance, and help with housing, employment, and chemical dependency. Veterans can meet one-on-one with attorneys who specialize in child support, social security, consumer law, tickets, DMV, federal and state tax assistance and other issues. Free meals, clothing and haircuts will also be available. And there's a free shuttle from the Fort Snelling Light Rail Station.

WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 2 and Wednesday, Aug. 3 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Welcome Ceremony will take place Aug. 2 at 11 a.m.
WHERE: Scout Base Camp, 201 Bloomington Road, Fort Snelling, Minn.

The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans estimates that about one percent of Minnesota veterans - that's nearly 4,100 veterans -- will experience homelessness this year. Last year's StandDown drew about 700 veterans.

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Free legal clinic for veterans coming to Minneapolis VA Medical Center

Posted at 1:49 PM on May 26, 2011 by Jessica Mador (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Housing, Veterans

Veterans of any war who need legal assistance or advice are invited to a free clinic at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. The event is part of a series of similar clinics organized by the Minnesota Justice Foundation in partnership with
Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans.

Veterans can speak with attorneys, law students, veterans service officers, child support officers, and VA Mental Health Homeless Program intake folks and get help with questions, legal forms, and counsel in the areas of child support, family, employment and Social Security law.

Tuesday, June 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

VA Medical Center

Flag Atrium Balcony Room 2B 114 (ask information desk for directions)

1 Veterans Drive, Minneapolis

FREE Parking at the VA Medical Center

For more information, contact Nathaniel Saltz at MACV: 612-726-1327 or nsaltz@mac-v.org.

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For clarity's sake: Mahdi, Ahmed, Abdirahman

Posted at 3:06 PM on April 15, 2011 by Brandt Williams (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Minneapolis

Just in case listeners were confused by my conversation with Tom Crann on All Things Considered last night about the latest Mahdi Hassan Ali hearing, I present the following clarification.

Three people are central to this latest development in the deadly Seward Market shooting case. All three of these people share the last name "Ali" -- however, only two of them are related.

Mahdi Hassan Ali is accused of shooting the three men in the market.

Ahmed Abdi Ali is the other young man accused of being involved in the shooting. Here are their mug shots - Mahdi on the left and Ahmed on the right.

And Abdirahman Abdi Ali is the older brother of Ahmed.

You can read more about how they all fit into the shooting investigation here.

The other confusing part of yesterday's debrief on All Things Considered occurred because of an unfortunate editing error. I explained at one point that Mahdi Ali's lawyer said in court that Abdirahman Abdi Ali, the older brother of Ahmed, is a member of a gang called the Somali Outlaws, but that portion was edited out.

So listeners only heard Tom Crann ask me, "What do we know about the Somali Outlaws?"

Thanks to our crack production team at ATC for replacing the missing audio. The corrected version is now online.

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What's the real versus the reported Twin Cities crime rate?

Posted at 5:00 PM on April 5, 2011 by Dan Olson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Minneapolis

Glynn Merriewether says a lot of crime never gets reported.

Merriewether is a Hennepin County "community coach" in the juvenile justice system. The court assigns juveniles to him, and he counsels them on how to stay out of trouble.

His comments contrast with official rates of reported crime nationally and locally, which are down, and in some categories, way down.

Among juveniles in Hennepin County, for example, officials say crime in various categories is down anywhere from 20 percent to more than 50 percent.

"The stats might show that the arrests are down, but the crimes are not," Merriewether told me. "Stabbings, the muggings, the robberies, the thefts they continue. Whether they are all caught and processed and go through the system, that's a different story."

Here's a finding from a 2003 Minnesota survey:

Sixty-seven percent of 2001 crime victims did not report one or more incidents to the police, the same percent as in the 1999 crime survey.

But tread carefully through this and other documents like it. There are lots of qualifications and in this case, it's a voluntary survey, not a scientific study.

Still, there appears to be a large amount of unreported crime in Minnesota and across the country.

Share your experience with The Cities. Why didn't you report the crime?

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Users react to 2C-E overdose case on web forums

Posted at 12:23 PM on March 22, 2011 by Elizabeth Dunbar (4 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime, Suburbs

The Blaine overdose case has been a popular discussion item on online message boards frequented by people who present themselves as drug users.

Nineteen-year-old Trevor Robinson-Davis died Thursday after inhaling 2C-E, and a fellow partygoer who allegedly supplied the drug has been charged with third-degree murder in his death.

I did some web searching while pursuing a story about the legality of 2C-E and whether there have been other criminal cases involving 2C-E. In the process, I found several online message boards where people were discussing the case.

Below are a few examples of things people are saying, with links to the message boards. Please note: I didn't have time to vet statements on the message boards for accuracy and haven't tried to interview a drug user about their experiences. But maybe one will contact me through this post.

"I need to stock up before it gets hard to find." I saw several posts predicting that because of the death, authorities would ban 2C-E. The Drug Enforcement Administration already says it's illegal under the Federal Analog Act. But it isn't on the list of controlled Schedule I or Schedule II substances, meaning it's not as easy for prosecutors to pursue cases. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has already promised to introduce legislation banning 2C-E. Shroomery.org discussion.

"I have no sympathy for any of these kids." There were a lot of angry posts on the message boards, where users can remain anonymous. People were mainly concerned that this group used 2C-E without being careful and that lawmakers would pounce on the opportunity to ban it. Zoklet.net discussion.

"There's no way you should die from it unless, you are in fact doing it like coke." According to authorities, some who overdosed in Blaine DID inhale it, including Robinson-Davis. Others ingested it. The user who posted the comment also said he/she spent two weeks researching 2C-E before ordering it. Other posts expressed surprise by the death reportedly caused by 2C-E and speculated about the possibility that the group mixed 2C-E with another drug, resulting in extreme effects. Shroomery.org discussion.

"I'm wondering ... if there is a tainted or mislabeled batch going around." Some users wondered if this was the issue and expressed fear about the incident. Authorities said the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tested the drug to be 2C-E. Bluelight.ru discussion.

Got any thoughts on this reaction?

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Johnny Northside wants to enlist Courtney Love in free speech fight

Posted at 6:10 PM on March 17, 2011 by Laura Yuen (3 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Housing, Minneapolis

Johnny Northside is hoping to get some Love in his First Amendment fight.

Blogger John Hoff says he'll try to enlist rocker Courtney Love in his appeal against last week's jury decision ordering him to pay up $60,000 in a defamation suit against him.

Love ran into her own free-speech troubles after ranting on Twitter against a clothing designer, who sued Love for defamation. The same week Hoff's case went to trial, news broke that Love was settling out of court for $430,000.

Hoff apparently sees a kindred spirit in the Hole frontwoman, and plans to ask Love to help support his defense fund.

"She found it more expedient to settle," Hoff tells me today. "If she threw some money our way, we'll fight the battle for free speech."

I ran into the boisterous blogger at Hennepin County Government Center while digging around for some unrelated court documents. Turns out Hoff was doing his own digging, searching for more evidence to bolster his claims against former Jordan neighborhood leader Jerry Moore. Moore sued Hoff after the blogger accused him of being involved in a major mortgage-fraud case in an online posting.

While Moore was never charged, the jury believed Hoff's statement against Moore was true. But the jury still decided he should pay damages to Moore, who was fired from his job after the blog item ran.

Hoff says it's not like he has $60,000 lying around.

"You can't get blood out of a turnip," he says.

The jury's decision, Hoff says, has energized a half-dozen organizations that are lining up to write amicus briefs out of concerns about free speech.

The attention is coming from coast to coast, Hoff says. A California attorney is weighing the possibility of becoming a co-counsel in his case.

"The more, the merrier," he says.

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Did Brooklyn Center business owner work 42 hours a day?

Posted at 3:36 PM on February 24, 2011 by Dan Olson (1 Comments)
Filed under: Courts, Crime

That was the red flag for Minnesota Department of Human service investigators.

They become interested in Medicaid claims for working 42 hours.

In a 24 hour day.

Anita and Stephen Soledolu allegedly submitted fraudulent Medicaid claims while operating a Twin Cities home health care business.

They face six criminal counts filed by the Minnesota attorney general. They're charged with defrauding Medicaid - paid for by taxpayers - of nearly a million dollars from 2006 to 2007 by filing false claims including inflated hours and claims they cared for people who weren't home at the time.

Medicaid and Medicare fraud enforcement has been pushed way up on the federal and state agenda. The estimate last year was about $60 billion of fraudulent claims in a system that paid out about $500 billion last year.

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