4 days ago
Probation for Spicer, Minnesota, lawyer/online personality may lead to dismissal of drug charge
May 28---- The Spicer lawyer and internet personality accused of neglecting his children and arrested after the
searched his home last year will serve five years of probation on a drug charge.
Nicholas Robert Rekieta, 43, known online as Rekieta Law, pleaded guilty in January to an amended charge of third-degree drug possession. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to a stay of adjudication.
Judge Stephen Wentzell at sentencing ordered a stay under
authorizing the court to grant relief to certain first-time drug offenders. The charge will be dismissed if Rekieta successfully completes probation.
Gross misdemeanor charges of possessing a firearm while under the influence of a controlled substance and child endangerment were dismissed, and the terms of the plea agreement also include dismissal of charges filed against Kayla Rekieta and April Imholte.
Rekieta was sentenced last month in
to serve 30 days in jail, starting Aug. 1, and given credit for two days already served. The jail sentence may be deferred if he remains compliant with the terms of probation, per the filed sentencing order.
Rekieta must complete 80 hours of community work service, and other conditions include submitting to random drug and alcohol testing, not possessing either and not possessing firearms.
Rekieta is known on YouTube and Rumble for his "lawsplaining" of high-profile court cases, such as the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in 2022.
According to the Minnesota Attorneys Registration System,
in Minnesota, as his license has been placed on involuntary restricted status.
Rekieta spoke about his case during a YouTube stream on April 19 after he was sentenced. He also addressed online rumors spreading about him and his family in "lawtube," a group of similar online content creators with which Rekieta is associated.
Rekieta said his family was reunited after about five months of separation due to a family court filing regarding the custody of his children, which has since been resolved and sealed by the court. Rekieta stated on his stream that the family court filing was resolved.
"Our family case went from effectively the beginning of June to two-thirds of the way through November," Rekieta said on the streamed video. "It was somewhere around Nov. 20, it was just before Thanksgiving that our family case ended completely. ... That was one of the best days of my life."
He later stated on the stream he wanted his criminal case to end because "I just didn't want to go to prison and I wanted to get this done because I have a family to support, and I have a life to get back to."
Law enforcement searched the home of Nicholas and Kayla Rekieta one year ago. According to the filed search warrant, a Kandiyohi County detective had received a report regarding possible child neglect and suspected substance use.
According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement officers were refused entry to the home and eventually used a door ram.
Kayla Rekieta, and another female visiting at the home, identified in court documents as April Imholte, were located inside along with four children.
According to the complaint, officers observed the home to be cluttered, and a total of 26.67 grams of drugs with packaging was confiscated. The complaint said substances that field-tested positive for cocaine, green-colored tablets that tested positive for ketamine, and an unknown brown substance were among items seized.
Officers also located a Sig Sauer automatic rifle with several magazines and loose ammunition underneath the bed in the master bedroom.
