Latest news with #Ex-St.Paul
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Yahoo
St. Paul officers justified in Belle Plaine shooting of murder suspect
St. Paul police officers who shot and killed a man suspected of shooting a Lowertown artist last fall were justified and acted lawfully in their use of force, the Scott County Attorney's Office announced Friday. Carrie Shobe Kwok, 66, was shot and killed while painting outside her residence in St. Paul's Lowertown on Sept. 15 in an apparently random shooting. The next morning, St. Paul officers approached the suspect, Seantrell Tyreese Murdock, 29, when he left his Belle Plaine residence. There was a confrontation and two officers fatally shot the armed man, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. In announcing the decision, Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar said that '… while the premature loss of life is always a tragedy, in this situation the officers acted both reasonably and responsibly. While attempting to peaceably arrest Mr. Murdock for an assassination-style murder of an unarmed civilian in St. Paul on the previous day, Mr. Murdock's actions far exceeded 'resisting arrest' and rose to the level of presenting a clear and present danger to the arresting officers.' Crime & Public Safety | Motorist sentenced to probation for leaving the crash scene after hitting pedestrian on I-94 in St. Paul Crime & Public Safety | Home day care license of South St. Paul City Council member suspended as result of investigation Crime & Public Safety | Pawnbrokers raided in connection with Joe Burrow burglary denied bail days before the Super Bowl Crime & Public Safety | Willernie woman latest to be sentenced in $250 million Feeding our Future fraud Crime & Public Safety | Ex-St. Paul officer sentenced for causing negligent fire at his family's restaurant He said the officers' use of force was necessary to protect them from death or 'great bodily harm.' In a letter to the BCA explaining how he came to that decision, Hocevar cited several facts about the confrontation including the following: Murdock's prior criminal history; The 'brutality' of the Lowertown shooting; His refusal to show his hands or get on the ground despite the officer's directives; His brandishing of a firearm; His continuous approach toward the officers; His 'overtly' threatening manner toward them and possibly others in the area.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Yahoo
Home daycare license of South St. Paul city council member suspended as result of investigation
The Minnesota Department of Human Services recently suspended the at-home daycare license held by a member of the South St. Paul City Council, citing an 'imminent risk of harm' to the children it served. The temporary license suspension, issued Dec. 9 to Pamela Bakken, follows the recommendation of Dakota County Community Services, which is handling an investigation. It reads: 'You are prohibited from providing family child care. You are also prohibited from operating as a legally unlicensed child care provider at this time.' Bakken, according to her campaign materials, has run an at-home daycare in the city for 20 years and raised six kids in South St. Paul. She was elected to the city council in 2020 and again this November, coming in third in a close four-way race. Kare 11 reported on Friday that the state had suspended a license held by a South St. Paul daycare operated by an elected official after a 3-year-old child was sent home sick and later tested positive for methamphetamines. South St. Paul Police Chief Brian Wicke said because of a possible conflict of interest his department turned the investigation over to the Lakeville Police Department. About 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 6th, his police department received 'a report of a child who had consumed an unknown substance.' 'During the course of our preliminary investigation, it was learned that a conflict of interest may present during the course of this investigation and as such, we contacted the Lakeville Police Department and asked them to conduct a conflict investigation on our behalf,' Wicke said Friday. 'My understanding is that (the) investigation remains active and as such, our original report(s) surrounding the response to this incident are not available at this time.' Attempts to reach Bakken were not successful Friday evening. Crime & Public Safety | Pawnbrokers raided in connection with Joe Burrow burglary denied bail days before the Super Bowl Crime & Public Safety | Willernie woman latest to be sentenced in $250 million Feeding our Future fraud Crime & Public Safety | Ex-St. Paul officer sentenced for causing negligent fire at his family's restaurant Crime & Public Safety | Brother of Parkland mass shooter arrested in Virginia, charged with trespassing at three schools Crime & Public Safety | Justice Department says it won't release the names of FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 riot cases
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Yahoo
Willernie woman latest to be sentenced in $250 million Feeding our Future fraud
A Willernie woman has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for her role in the $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick announced on Friday. Sharon Denise Ross, 54, was sentenced to 43 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $2,434,360, according to acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. She also was ordered to forfeit all property purchased from her fraud proceeds, including her house in Willernie. She is the 17th defendant to plead guilty to federal charges relating to the fraud scheme since the FBI raided Feeding Our Future's St. Anthony offices early in 2022. Other charges against Ross were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Ross was one of 60 Minnesotans charged with defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture's child nutrition programs during the pandemic, when regulations temporarily were loosened and a variety of businesses and nonprofits were allowed to help feed hungry kids while schools were closed. Federal prosecutors have called the the scheme the nation's largest coronavirus pandemic fraud, amounting to more than $250 million. On March 7, 2024, Ross was charged with 12 counts of wire fraud and money laundering for her part in the scheme defrauding the Federal Child Nutrition Program. On Jan. 10, she pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Court documents show she was the executive director of House of Refuge Twin Cities, a St. Paul-based nonprofit which she enrolled in the federal program. From September 2021 to February 2022, she claimed to be serving thousands of children each day at her nonprofit sites, saying she served nearly 900,000 meals. As a result of her fraudulent claim, she received $2.4 million in federal funds. She gave out hundreds of thousands of dollars to family members and used the rest of the money to 'fund her lifestyle, including to pay for vacations to Florida and Las Vegas, to purchase a suite at a Minnesota Timberwolves game, and to purchase her house in Willernie,' the U.S. Attorney's office said. Court documents say at the time she was also on probation for another fraud. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Monday in the trial of the alleged ringleader of the scheme. Aimee Bock, the founder of Feeding our Future, is one of 70 defendants charged in the overall case. Thirty of them have pleaded guilty to various charges. One defendant recently was sentenced to 17 1/2 years, the longest prison term handed down in the case so far. Crime & Public Safety | Ex-St. Paul officer sentenced for causing negligent fire at his family's restaurant Crime & Public Safety | Future unclear for animals at embattled Roseville aquarium chain after January sale thwarted Crime & Public Safety | Hugo man sentenced to prison for stealing more than $1.3M from Inver Grove Heights employer for trips, cars and a boat Crime & Public Safety | Minneapolis man sentenced after fentanyl pills found by St. Paul hotel housekeeper Crime & Public Safety | Attorney in St. Paul construction site death settlement: If rules were followed, 'Pete would still be here.'
