Monday, April 8, 2013
Minnesota District Judge Karen Asphaug recently ruled a portion of Minnesota's laws regarding assisted suicide unconstitutional on freedom of speech grounds.
Is it illegal to give another person advice on committing suicide, or is it protected by freedom of speech? That's the question at the heart of a recent appeal filed by Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom's office in the case against several members of a national right-to-die group who are accused of helping an Apple Valley woman commit suicide in 2007. Backstrom announced late last week that his office is challenging Minnesota District Court Judge Karen Asphaug's March ruling that a Minnesota law making it illegal to assist, encourage or advise another in taking his or her own life was unconstitutional. In her ruling, Asphaug said the word "advise" was too broad and infringed on freedom of speech. The appeal is the latest development …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The founder and former leader of a right-to-die group is off the hook regarding charges filed following the suicide of Doreen Dunn, an Apple Valley woman.
After struggling for years with crippling pain, former musician Doreen Dunn, 57, took her own life in 2007—with the alleged help of four members of a national right-to-die group. On Friday, a judge threw out a felony charge against one of those members, Thomas Goodwin, the founder and former president of the Georgia-based Final Exit Network. But Dakota County District Court Judge Karen Asphaug upheld charges against the other three accused of helping Doreen Dunn take her own life, according to a report in the Pioneer Press. Minnesota statutes make it a felony to assist, encourage or advise another in taking his or her own life. But Asphaug said in her ruling that the word "advises" is too broad. Attorneys for the defendants argued that …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Police found the body of a pregnant, 37-year-old woman in Apple Valley on March 7. The Dakota County Attorney's Office announced today that it filed murder charges in the case.
UPDATE, 1:22 p.m.: Roger Earl Holland, 36, of Apple Valley, has been charged Monday with two counts of second-degree intentional murder in connection with the death of his wife and their unborn child. Margorie Ann Holland, 37, died Thursday. She was 15 weeks pregnant. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom told reporters at a 1 p.m. press conference that his office aims to pursue first-degree premeditated murder charges to be brought before a grand jury. Check back for details and updates throughout the day on Apple Valley-Rosemount Patch. ********* Original post, 10:52 a.m.: Editor's Note: The following is a press release from the Dakota County Attorney's Office. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced that his Office will be …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
December is designated National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, and Dakota County officials are warning drivers about the dangerous consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Editor's Note: The following is a press release from the Dakota County Sheriff's Office and the Dakota County Attorney's Office. Now that the holiday season is here Americans across the country will soon be involved in holiday activities and travel. For some however, the season won’t be free of disaster. That’s why Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom and Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows are joining highway safety organizations and law enforcement partners across the nation to remind people during December and throughout the year that Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving and that drinking and driving don’t mix. December is designated National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. It is a time to raise awareness about the dangerous consequences…
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Police say Alex Jefferson Nouel brought the girl to his Apple Valley home and raped her after she passed out from drinking.
An Apple Valley man has been charged with raping an intoxicated 16-year-old girl after the girl passed out. Alex Jefferson Nouel, 23, is charged with fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. According to the criminal complaint—which was filed by the Dakota County Attorney's Office last week—the Apple Valley Police Department was contacted on Aug. 1, 2011, regarding a sexual assault a month earlier in Apple Valley. The victim said she was extremely intoxicated and had been smoking marijuana on July 9 and was rebuffing the sexual advances of Nouel. She said he had been touching her inappropriately. The girl said she woke up the next morning and “didn’t feel right.” She …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Marianne Wensole-Landivar was charged with a felony, two gross misdemeanors and a misdemeanor following the Sept. 2 incident.
Like us on Facebook | Get our newsletter | Follow us on Twitter | Start a blog A 33-year-old Rosemount woman was arrested for allegedly driving away from West St. Paul Police while she was legally intoxicated. Marianne Wensole-Landivar was charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, a felony; third-degree driving while impaired (under the influence of alcohol) and third-degree driving while impaired (0.08 or more within two hours-aggravating factor), both gross misdemeanors; and obstructing legal process, a misdemeanor. According to the Dakota County complaint: West St. Paul Police arrived at the scene of a reported fight involving five to seven people on West Bernard Street at about 12:35 a.m. Sept. 2. They began talking to a…
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Police say Kris Laymar Ewing—already facing robbery charges—assaulted another inmate when the man stepped in to separate Ewing and a third inmate during an argument about a brown-bag meal.
Like us on Facebook | Get our newsletter | Follow us on Twitter | Start a blog An Apple Valley man already facing a robbery charge has been charged with assaulting a fellow inmate at the Dakota County Jail in Hastings. Kris Laymar Ewing, 22, was charged last week with third-degree assault, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Ewing has been in custody in the Dakota County Jail since July 25, when he was arrested on a charge of simple robbery, a felony with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. According to the latest complaint, Ewing and another jail inmate argued Sept. 2 about a brown-bag meal. The victim stepped in and separated them, offering to get Ewing food out of a …
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Shakeena Takeema Tracy Flax was one of three women reportedly involved in taking $1,604 in merchandise from the Apple Valley Home Depot.
A Minneapolis woman has been charged with felony theft for allegedly helping steal a cartload of merchandise from the Apple Valley Home Depot store last December. According to a Dakota County criminal complaint filed in August, Shakeena Takeema Tracy Flax, 24, was charged with aggregating felony theft for allegedly aiding in the attempted theft of $1,604 in items from Home Depot. If found guilty, she faces a penalty of up to five years in jail and up to a $10,000 fine. According to the complaint: On Dec. 29, an Apple Valley Police officer responded to a storage facility on Foliage Avenue—near the Home Depot—after a witness reportedly saw two men chasing a woman and noticed a cart of Home Depot merchandise on a nearby sidewalk. Police …
Monday, May 14, 2012
The Dakota County Attorney's Office announced a grand jury indicted national nonprofit group Final Exit Network and members with assisting a suicide related to the 2007 suicide of an Apple Valley woman.
A Dakota County Grand Jury has indicted a national nonprofit right-to-die group, as well as four of its members, for their alleged roles in the 2007 suicide of an Apple Valley woman. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced Monday that the indictments allege that Apple Valley resident Doreen Dunn, who was 57 at the time, "decided to end her life with the advice, encouragement or assistance of an organization known as the Final Exit Network." "She hid this fact from her family and when her body was found on May 30, 2007 by her husband, it appeared to him, the Dakota County Medical Examiner, and the Apple Valley Police Department that her death was from natural causes," a statement from the Dakota County Attorney's Office says. Dunn…
Iam AnonEmous
10:28 pm on Sunday, February 3, 2013
Yep December sees ALL kinds... the links below reminds... Oh yeah and this guy IS a 25 year judge!!! Wonder how many times over those 25 years he did so and didn't smash up 5 parked cars... http://mendotaheights.patch.com/articles/dakota-county-judge-posts-bond-after-being-charged-with-christmas-eve-dwi-e20afd19 http://mendotaheights.patch.com/articles/south-metro-news-roundup-56626cd5 more ›