Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Michael Wayne Moreland of rural Northfield was charged with criminal vehicular homicide/gross negligence following a July 2012 accident that claimed the life of Kimberly Motzko. A grand jury's indictment in the case was overturned by a Waseca County judge
UPDATE, 8 P.M. WEDNESDAY: Rice County prosecutors have decided to appeal a Waseca County judge's decision to dismiss a grand jury indictment against a Northfield man involved in a fatal crash last July. In court papers filed with the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Assistant Rice County Attorney Terence Swihart wrote that prosecutors are seeking to overturn Judge Larry M. Collins' motion "to dismiss indictment and to exclude and/or suppress evidence." "The district court's omnibus ruling will have a critcal impact on the outcome of the trial because the order dismissed the only felony charge in the indictment ... and in effect disposed of the entire case," Swihart wrote in the court filing. The prosecutors' Notice of Appeal is attached to this…
Friday, December 28, 2012
For burglars, the holidays are an opportunity to steal cash, credit cards, and new electronics, jewelry, and other easily sold valuables.
Gifts are given for many special occasions, the largest probably being the Christmas holiday. Christmas and Hanukkah traditions include gift giving and many businesses gift employees and clients at year’s end. Although gift giving is big business to retailers, the tradition of giving gifts has a time honored history, and hopefully reflects joy and thanksgiving for all. Unfortunately, recent headlines remind us that holiday gift giving is perceived differently by local burglars. For them, the holidays are an opportunity to steal cash, credit cards, and new electronics, jewelry, and other easily sold valuables. Rice County law enforcement agencies typically report increased crime during the holidays. In 2011, the FBI reported nearly 400,000 …
Friday, December 14, 2012
Here’s a look back at Tuesday’s Rice County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Here’s a look back at Tuesday’s Rice County Board of Commissioners meeting. The agenda is attached to this post as a PDF. The commissioners: Follow Northfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
As a community—at local and state levels—we need to evaluate our current corrections system, examining how we reintegrate prisoners back into our communities as contributing members of society.
Minnesota’s largest prison facility is located in Rice County, on the former Regional Treatment Center site in Faribault. Ninety-nine percent of all prisoners are eventually released to make their way in the world. Some are released with parole conditions, while others have completed their sentence requirements. Most catch a bus out of town, and return to the familiarity of their former community and friends. Unfortunately, this often means a return to the lifestyle that resulted in their incarceration. It paints a bleak picture. As a community—at local and state levels—we need to evaluate our current corrections system, examining how we reintegrate prisoners back into our communities as contributing members of society. An improved …
Monday, October 29, 2012
My office receives reports almost daily of women, children, and men who have suffered abuse at the hands of someone claiming to care about them.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. My office receives reports almost daily of women, children, and men who have suffered abuse at the hands of someone claiming to care about them. On average, three women are killed each day in the United States by a boyfriend or husband. And each year, women experience 2 million injuries from intimate partner violence. It is estimated that 10-15 million children live in homes where violence has occurred at least once in the last year. It can be hard to talk about domestic violence. But to prevent abuse, stop ongoing abuse, and to heal the abused, we need to work and talk as a community. Not so long ago, it was considered taboo to mention domestic violence in polite company. The topic was not …
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Here are some back-to-school safety reminders – for students, parents, motorists, and pedestrians.
To the relief of most parents, Rice County schools are back in session! The Rice County Attorney’s Office, all of Rice County’s Chiefs of Police, and the Rice County Sheriff want everyone to make it to school safely. Here are some back-to-school safety reminders – for students, parents, motorists, and pedestrians. Have a family discussion on safely loading, riding, and exiting the school bus, and how to safely walk to school – consider this your “back-to-school homework.” Parents, talk to your teen drivers about a motorist’s responsibility to pay attention to school bus traffic – it will be a good reminder for them, and for you. More children are killed outside of a school bus than are killed as bus occupants. Motorists must anticipate …
Monday, July 23, 2012
Di-ver-sion: the act of turning (anything) aside from its course, or occupation or purpose. Webster dictionary.
Di-ver-sion: the act of turning (anything) aside from its course, or occupation or purpose. Webster dictionary. Crime and punishment theories abound as to what methods of accountability produce the best results for public safety and rehabilitation. Some theories call for hash punishment for even the smallest of crimes. States following these theories generally have higher incarceration and recidivism rates. Minnesota has adopted the theory that graduated penalties and rehabilitation typically results in lower incarceration and recidivism rates. Minnesota law requires every County Attorney’s Office to have a diversion program, to maximize public safety while minimizing intervention in the criminal justice system. For years, diversion has …
Saturday, June 16, 2012
There has been a rash of phone calls from solicitors claiming to be from the ‘Senior Medicare Card Office’ who are manipulating Medicare beneficiaries into revealing their bank account numbers.
There has been a rash of phone calls from solicitors claiming to be from the ‘Senior Medicare Card Office’ who are manipulating Medicare beneficiaries into revealing their bank account numbers. Once they have obtained this information, the solicitor then goes on to steal money from the beneficiary’s bank account. The caller initially explains that the beneficiary will be receiving updated Medicare cards within the “next three to five days”, but first, the beneficiary must verify over the phone, personal information, such as name, address and other information. As a lure to get the banking account number, the caller then reads the root number of the person’s bank (the first series of numbers on a check), then asks the beneficiary to …
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Memorial Day is a time to honor those who serve and remember those who have died in war. But sadly, it has also become a key opportunity for scammers to target those who are serving or have served their nation.
Memorial Day is a time to honor those who serve and remember those who have died in war. But sadly, it has also become a key opportunity for scammers to target those who are serving or have served their nation, especially elderly veterans. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is urging consumers and donors to be on the lookout for deals that seem too good to be true, and for disreputable charities. Among the scams to watch out for: Our office along with the BBB advises service members, veterans and all consumers never to give personal identification information (Social Security, bank account, military identification or credit card numbers, etc.) and be wary of any solicitations that involve purchasing something or transferring money. Need …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Knowing your rights in advance of becoming a victim will help you through the process and give you reasonable expectations as to what will or will not happen as you navigate the criminal justice system.
This year we dedicate the week not only to educating the public regarding victims’ rights, but also to honoring crime victims and the nation’s progress in advancing their rights. Each year 18.7 million Americans are directly harmed by crime, and each crime affects many more family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. The physical, emotional, and financial impact of crime falls on people of all ages and abilities, and of all economic, racial, and social backgrounds. Crime victims face a criminal justice system that, at times, ignores their rights and treats them with disregard throughout the process. The fact that at any time any one of us might become a victim of crime invests all of us in the concept of victim rights. Knowing your…
Britt Ackerman
9:57 am on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Good article Paul. I commend you for your support of the proposed legislation which would provide a mechanism for relief in the form of a certificate of rehabilitation. You do a good job in this article of explaining the futility of rehabilitation in merited cases. It's important to counter the "lock them up and throw away the key" mentality so prevalent in public opinion. However, I believe that… more ›