Latest news with #MinnesotaBureauofCriminalApprehension
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Charges to be dismissed in St. Paul sexual assault case
A sexual assault case against a 50-year-old accused of raping a man in St. Paul he met on a dating app is being dismissed due to a lack of evidence, according to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office. The charges against John Henry McCaster allege he sexually assaulted a man at a home in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on New Year's Eve 2023 after the two met on the Grindr app. He told police McCaster had insisted that he drink a 'blue drink' and after doing so 'began to feel drunk,' then passed out and awoke naked, the charges say. Police had already arrested McCaster about two hours before the man called police on Dec. 31, 2023. He was picked up in Vadnais Heights on suspicion of drug possession (methamphetamine) and possessing a gun (he was prohibited after having been convicted of a crime of violence) and later charged with both offenses. McCaster was found with the man's driver's license and debit card and other items at that time. McCaster later told investigators they had consensual sex. Police carried out a search warrant at the East Side home and found blue liquid in a pitcher, which was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing. On Wednesday, McCaster pleaded guilty to the gun charge. As part of a plea agreement, the sexual assault case will be dismissed at his sentencing 'given a lack of evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, including the remaining liquid that the (man) drank testing negative for any controlled substances,' Dennis Gerhardstein, Ramsey County Attorney's Office spokesman, said in a Friday statement. The man who reported the assault agreed with the settlement, Gerhardstein said. McCaster's attorney did not respond to a request for comment Friday. McCaster faces a mandatory five-year prison sentence on the gun charge. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15. Maplewood shooting: St. Paul man fired on car while kids cowered nearby, charges say Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant's social media posts undercut her rape allegation Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt Wedding photographer sentenced for surreptitiously recording bride changing clothes Derrick Thompson's trial begins in deaths of 5 women
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Charges to be dismissed in St. Paul sexual assault case
A sexual assault case against a 50-year-old accused of raping a man in St. Paul he met on a dating app is being dismissed due to a lack of evidence, according to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office. The charges against John Henry McCaster allege he sexually assaulted a man at a home in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on New Year's Eve 2023 after the two met on the Grindr app. He told police McCaster had insisted that he drink a 'blue drink' and after doing so 'began to feel drunk,' then passed out and awoke naked, the charges say. Police had already arrested McCaster about two hours before the man called police on Dec. 31, 2023. He was picked up in Vadnais Heights on suspicion of drug possession (methamphetamine) and possessing a gun (he was prohibited after having been convicted of a crime of violence) and later charged with both offenses. McCaster was found with the man's driver's license and debit card and other items at that time. McCaster later told investigators they had consensual sex. Police carried out a search warrant at the East Side home and found blue liquid in a pitcher, which was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing. On Wednesday, McCaster pleaded guilty to the gun charge. As part of a plea agreement, the sexual assault case will be dismissed at his sentencing 'given a lack of evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, including the remaining liquid that the (man) drank testing negative for any controlled substances,' Dennis Gerhardstein, Ramsey County Attorney's Office spokesman, said in a Friday statement. The man who reported the assault agreed with the settlement, Gerhardstein said. McCaster's attorney did not respond to a request for comment Friday. McCaster faces a mandatory five-year prison sentence on the gun charge. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15. Maplewood shooting: St. Paul man fired on car while kids cowered nearby, charges say Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant's social media posts undercut her rape allegation Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt Wedding photographer sentenced for surreptitiously recording bride changing clothes Derrick Thompson's trial begins in deaths of 5 women
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Bayport couple found dead in home; natural causes determined
A Bayport couple found dead in their home this spring died of natural causes, officials say. Candrice and John Ellickson were found March 11 after a neighbor who hadn't seen them in a week called to request a welfare check at their home on Lakeside Bay Drive South. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office does not list a timeline for how long the couple was deceased before being found, but police believe 'it was likely a few days,' said Bayport Police Chief Jay Jackson. Candrice 'Candy' Ellickson, 77, died of a hepatic tumor and obesity, according to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office. Her husband, John, died of diabetic ketoacidosis and cardiomegaly. The neighbor who requested the welfare check told police that he received a call from another neighbor asking if he had seen the couple lately because John Ellickson 'had not put his trash cans at the end of his curb as he always does,' the police report states. The neighbor who called police said he had not seen the couple since he plowed snow at their residence a week prior. After he was contacted by the other neighbor, he said he went to the Ellicksons' house and found the front door unlocked. He told police he yelled several times for John Ellickson, but got no answer. When the first police officer arrived, he found the front door unlocked and both of the Ellicksons deceased, according to the police report. A search warrant was issued, and officers searching the home 'immediately detected a moderate odor consistent with … deceased individuals,' the report states. Candy Ellickson was found on the couch in the upstairs living room; John Ellickson was found in an upstairs bathroom. Officers 'did not observe anything apparently out of place or that appeared suspicious in nature, and … did not immediately observe any sign of trauma to either decedent,' according to reports. Investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were called to the scene 'out of an abundance of caution due to the unusual circumstances of two people being deceased at the same time,' Police Chief Jay Jackson said. Both of the Ellicksons' carbon monoxide concentrations were within the normal range, he said. Family members told police that both of the Ellicksons had been sick with cold symptoms the month prior. According to a joint obituary, the couple devoted their lives to public safety. John Ellickson retired as deputy director of New Brighton's Department of Public Safety; Candy Ellickson retired as a dispatcher for the Washington County Sheriff's Office. 'They enjoyed traveling in their retirement, especially the southwestern U.S.,' the obituary states. 'They loved touring historical estates, watching movies, and dining out together.' Obituary: How a bridge got Mary McComber, mayor of Oak Park Heights, into local politics U of M researchers are planting 'survivor' trees in hopes of defeating Dutch elm disease Woodbury: East Ridge teacher on leave following report of racial slur Inmate rights groups demand say in Stillwater prison closure plan Pioneer Press 2025 patio guide: Wring every second out of summer at these 100+ Twin Cities spots
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man fatally shot by police in Coon Rapids identified as 65-year-old
Authorities have identified the man fatally shot by police in Coon Rapids this week as Robert Davis, 65. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that Davis, of Coon Rapids, died from a single gunshot wound that was fired by a Coon Rapids police officer responding to a domestic incident in the city on Wednesday. The officer who shot him has been identified as Timothy Morin, who has seven years of law enforcement experience. Three others officers at the scene were Steve Minion and Michael Blair, who fired "less lethal launchers," and Emily Giese, who fired a Taser. According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Davis was armed with a folding-utility knife and moving towards Officer Morin when he opened fire. Officers had received a 911 domestic call on the 300 block of 111th Avenue Northwest just after noon, with the caller a woman – Davis's long-term partner – who said that Davis had cut her with a knife and was still inside the home. When the officers arrived, the BCA says the "tried to make verbal contact with Davis from the entryway of the home." The woman victim and another man escaped the home while the officers negotiated with Davis for up to an hour. "He was still armed with the knife while officers continued communicating with him to drop the weapon and told him that he was under arrest," the BCA says. Minion fired the less-lethal rounds at Davis, who moved further into the home. Officers continued to tell him to drop the knife, with Blair then firing a less-lethal round. Per the BCA: "Davis moved toward Officer Morin, who fired his department-issued handgun, striking Davis. Officer Giese deployed her Taser at which point Davis was taken into custody. "Officers provided life-saving care, but Davis later died at the hospital." The injured woman suffered a knife wound to the hand and was treated and released. The officers were wearing body cameras during the incident, which remains under investigation. The findings of the BCA will be then sent to the Anoka County Attorney's Office for review.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Charge: DNA links St. Paul man to 2013 rape at Maplewood motel
A 59-year-old man charged in January with raping a 71-year-old St. Paul woman he met on Facebook is now accused of committing a 2013 sexual assault at a Maplewood motel. Thao Xiong's DNA came back as a match through an initiative to analyze a backlog of untested sexual assault kits, according to a Ramsey County District Court criminal complaint charging him Friday by warrant with felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Xiong remained out of custody on Monday. He was released from jail on March 21 after posting a $50,000 bond in the January case that also charges him with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Xiong allegedly committed that offense while on probation for a 2020 first-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction involving a 41-year-old woman during a night of drinking at his St. Paul apartment in July 2019. According to the Friday's criminal complaint: A woman reported to police on July 15, 2013, that she had just been forcibly sexually assaulted at a motel off U.S. 61 in Maplewood by a man she knew as 'Chue Lee,' identified in November 2020 through a DNA match as Xiong. The woman said she had been talking with 'Chue' for two days over the phone, that she did not know him previously and had assumed he got her number from someone she knew. She said he called her on July 15 and said he was coming to Minnesota from Wisconsin and wanted her to show him around. They also planned to go for a walk by a lake. She met Xiong in the parking lot of a St. Paul grocery store, where he suggested they take one car and offered to drive. She agreed and got into his car. He drove past the lake, telling her they were going to get something to eat first. Rather than going to a restaurant, he brought her to the motel, saying he wanted to get some rest before eating. Xiong rented the room and once inside began 'ripping her clothes apart,' the complaint says. She said he 'overpowered' her and raped her. She went to a hospital for a sexual assault examination the same day. A nurse examiner noted bruising to the woman's body and she complained about areas where she said Xiong had bitten her. She told the nurse the assault began immediately after they got into the motel room and Xiong locked the door. After the assault, she said, Xiong appeared scared, so she got in his car. Xiong dropped her off and about 15 minutes later he called her and left a 'cruel message,' which she later provided to police. The complaint says motel video shows Xiong arriving with the woman in a gray Toyota Prius just after 5 p.m. He went into the motel office and then moved the car in front of a room. The two entered the room at 5:15 p.m. and left 45 minutes later. An investigator in late July 2020 discovered the sexual assault kit, which had not been tested. It was brought to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and four months later an unidentified male DNA profile taken from swabs of the woman was entered into the state's DNA databases and the National DNA Index System. The BCA notified St. Paul police on Nov. 4, 2020, that Xiong's DNA, obtained from his 2019 sexual assault case, matched the DNA in the 2013 assault. Police tried to contact the woman but were unsuccessful, the complaint says. Last March, police were told DNA collected from Xiong in the January case matched the DNA found on the swabs taken from the 2013 victim, the complaint says. Police tried to locate the woman and reached her on April 10 after her son called to ask why they were trying to contact his mother who does not speak English, the complaint says. She told police through an interpreter she 'had been waiting for a very long time for an update on her case and wants him prosecuted for sexually assaulting her,' the complaint says. Police sent the case to the attorney's office for charging consideration last month. Kate Courtney, Xiong's attorney in the January case, said Monday she could not comment on Friday's charge because she has been out of town and has not read the complaint. According to January's complaint, St. Paul police were dispatched to the 71-year-old woman's apartment in the Summit-University neighborhood about 6:30 p.m. Jan. 28 after she reported she had just been forcefully sexually assaulted by a man, who was later identified as Xiong. She told police someone must have given Xiong her phone number because he called, asking to meet. She agreed, and invited him over. When he entered the apartment, she told police, he pushed her into her bedroom, took off her clothes and raped her. Shooter gets 33½-year prison term for killing St. Paul man after Edina birthday dinner Blaine child care worker sentenced to 90 days in jail for abusing children Woodbury officials seek info on rug connected to house fire Singer Dawn Richard says Sean 'Diddy' Combs threatened her with death after she saw him beat Cassie St. Paul man pleads guilty to murdering girlfriend in her downtown apartment She gave police a Facebook profile that Xiong used to contact her. As an officer pulled up the profile, she immediately said, 'that's him,' the complaint states. He was arrested Jan. 28 after police obtained a search warrant for his apartment in St. Paul's Payne-Phalen neighborhood and found him hiding under his bed. Court records show that Xiong reached a plea deal with prosecutors in the 2019 case and admitted to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in exchange for a first-degree charge being dismissed. He was sentenced to 231 days in jail, which was time that he had already served after his arrest, and put on supervised probation for 10 years. Xiong has no other convictions, besides two petty misdemeanor traffic violations.
