Latest news with #RamseyCounty
CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
SWAT team gathered outside Roseville apartment complex after shots fired
Law enforcement have converged outside a Twin Cities apartment building early Thursday morning. Roseville police say someone fired a gun inside Coventry Apartments off Ashbury Street and is now barricaded inside. Ramsey County's SWAT team is at the scene assisting, and there are no known victims. This is a developing story.
CBS News
21 hours ago
- CBS News
St. Paul man sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison for girlfriend's 2023 murder
A judge on Wednesday sentenced a St. Paul man convicted of killing his girlfriend to nearly 25 years in prison. Kelvin Perry, 56, was convicted in May of second-degree intentional murder in the death of 39-year-old Shaquita Thomas, court records show. Perry entered a Norgaard plea, meaning he admits to the crime and acknowledges he is not innocent, but does not recall the circumstances of the offense. The judge sentenced him to 24 years and seven months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution. According to charges, Thomas' husband, whom she was still married to but separated from, requested a wellness check on her apartment in St. Paul in November 2023, as he hadn't heard from her for a few days. First responders found Thomas lying face down with injuries to her forearms, back and shoulders. She died at the scene. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner said the cause of her death was asphyxia. Police at the residence allegedly saw blood on the carpet and a bedroom wall, and a broken wine bottle and glass shards near Thomas. Thomas' husband said she had spent the night with him on Nov. 14. 2023, according to charges. He dropped her off at her apartment the following morning. When they arrived, Thomas called Perry because he had the key fob she needed to get into the apartment. She allegedly wanted her husband to leave before Perry arrived so they would not be seen together. Thomas' husband feared for her well-being because he had heard Perry yell at her multiple times. Surveillance video showed Perry getting to the apartment around 10 a.m. and leaving later that day. Investigators later spoke with an ex-girlfriend of Perry's, who said she had talked to Perry's brother. He said that Perry mentioned to others that he "choked Thomas out," charges say. A woman who has known Perry since childhood told police that she spoke with Perry, who said during a phone call, "Something is going on. My girlfriend is gone, she is dead," charges allege. Court documents say Perry walked in front of a Green Line train in St. Paul minutes after that call. If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline at 1-800-799-SAFE or Minnesota Day One at 1-866-223-1111. If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk about anything. In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text "HelpLine" to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs. Nick Lentz contributed to this report.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
"It's a balancing act": Minnesota police manage chases while protecting drivers
WCCO Investigates is looking at safety on the roads after a recent high-speed chase through the streets of Ramsey County. Deputies reported on Saturday that a 32-year-old Brooklyn Center man driving a pick-up truck fled deputies during a traffic stop near the Hugo-Forest Lake border. The driver was clocked at speeds exceeding 100 mph, with Ramsey County deputies joining the chase on southbound Interstate 35E. Deputies released stop strips, but dashcam footage shows the suspect didn't stop or even slow down as the truck left behind a trail of sparks. The driver eventually lost control, hit a guardrail and rolled to a stop in the ditch near Interstate 694 and Snelling Avenue in Roseville. He was taken into custody, as well as his passenger, a North Branch woman, 27, who had outstanding warrants in Ramsey County, the sheriff's office said. Authorities also say a gunshot was heard near I-35E and Highway 96 during the chase, and a handgun was later spotted on the interstate in the area and recovered. "[A deputy] photographed it and recovered it — meaning more charges could be coming, just as fast as that truck and sparks were flying," the sheriff's office wrote in a Facebook post. There is no one-size-fits-all police on chases in Minnesota; each agency has its own rules of engagement when it comes to pursuits. Those protocols, however, are based on a model from the Minnesota Board of Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST), which was last updated in 2024. One provision states that an officer can start a pursuit when the risk of letting the suspect go outweighs the risk to other drivers on the road. The officer or trooper behind the wheel must also keep evaluating those risks and decide whether there's still a good chance of even catching the person they're after. "It's a balancing act, right? As law enforcement officers, we all have a duty to uphold the law, but we also have a duty in the mission of traffic safety," Captain Brian Cheney with the Minnesota Highway Patrol explained to WCCO Investigates. "Is it a controlled access roadway where there are no cross-streets and intersections? Is there less risk as opposed to a freeway in the Twin Cities, where they exit off a ramp and the first thing you come to is a busy intersection?" Across the state, police have engaged in 7,044 pursuits over the last three years, according to data from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that was analyzed by WCCO Investigates. The top reasons for pursuits included traffic violations (56.7%), stolen vehicle (13.6%), felony (6.4%), warrant (4.2%) and DUI (4.1%). The vast majority of chases (70%) took place between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., and nearly 90% of them lasted less than 10 minutes, while more than half of all pursuits in the last three years (54%) ended without an arrest of the driver. "Our complete mission is traffic safety," Cheney added. "When we really look at travel safety, that has to play into it." Data shows that 98.5% of all pursuits end without injury, but nearly a third result in some property damage, most often to the violator's car. "There is no pursuit if the person doesn't flee," Cheney quipped. "I go back to just a traffic stop. Pull over. You might get a ticket. Go on about your day just as you were before." All first responders must pass advanced driving courses for their certifications, but some police and sheriff cadets train in what's called the PIT maneuver, which involves making contact with the suspect's vehicle at a particular point to spin them out. WCCO was given special access to PIT training at The Precision Driving Center of Minnesota at St. Cloud State University. "We are not hitting vehicles out of the way. We are pushing vehicles out of the way," instructor Greg Newinski explained to WCCO Investigates. "We are pushing the back end of the vehicle to break it loose, spin it around, disable it so the person can be apprehended." A pursuit intervention technique, or PIT, can actually refer to any number of strategies to end a pursuit, including spike strips or roadblocks, but state data shows troopers choose to perform the PIT maneuver more than any other technique in a chase. "We're making contact with the car in a very soft way," Newinski insisted. "You need to have the training to do it safely. You can't just go and do this." The training includes two hours in the classroom and then six hours on the range, and while it's not exactly rocket science, there are physics involved. Newinski cautioned that the most challenging skill, however, is the ability to think critically and stay calm. "It's building that muscle memory of what to do," he said. "All our lives we're told not to make contact with other vehicles and now we're telling you to make contact with another vehicle." All police officers and sheriff's deputies must complete an advanced driving skills refresh every five years to keep their peace officer license active. Those with PIT certification will also do that with their refresher course."Stephen Swanson contributed to this report.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sheriff Bob Fletcher critiques agency info-sharing after lawmaker shootings
After last month's shootings of two state lawmakers and their spouses, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher is pressing public safety officials for answers on how they handled notifying legislators and law enforcement agencies of the ongoing threat. In a letter to security officials at the Minnesota Capitol, Fletcher raised concerns about information sharing between law enforcement and state leaders as a man suspected of shooting lawmakers while disguised as a police officer remained at large in the early morning hours of June 14. Fletcher said the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office did not learn of the shootings, details about the suspect, or the fact that the suspect had been targeting lawmakers until hours after the information had become available to other officials and law enforcement agencies. 'Few things are more troubling than not being informed for several hours that a murderer is roaming the northern suburbs with a 'hit list' in search of his potential victims, many of whom reside in your patrol jurisdiction,' the sheriff wrote in a July 7 letter addressed to the Minnesota House Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Security Division of the Minnesota State Patrol. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety disputes Fletcher's claims. 'This letter does not accurately represent the manner in which law enforcement responded to the tragic events on June 14,' Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson said in a statement this week. 'Notifications were sent to the proper parties early that morning. We'll be discussing that in greater detail with the sheriff and the others as the investigation continues.' Vance Boelter, 57, faces federal and state prosecution for the fatal shootings of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their home in Brooklyn Park, and shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champlin. Authorities captured him near his home outside Green Isle, Minn., after a two-day manhunt. Boelter allegedly had a list of addresses for Democratic elected officials and abortion providers in his vehicle, and visited the homes of Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, and Rep. Kristin Bahner, DFL-Maple Grove. Bahner was not home at the time, and Boelter allegedly left Rest's street after a police officer arrived. Local police became aware of the shootings just after 2 a.m., when Hoffman's daughter called 911, and started responding to north Hennepin County legislators' homes. Though a widespread alert did not happen until after 3:30 a.m., when officers encountered the shooter at the Hortmans' Brooklyn Park home. The Department of Public Safety said teletype notifications — digital inter-agency notices — went out to metro-area law enforcement agencies: one from the Brooklyn Park Police Department at 4:25 a.m. and another from the State Patrol at 4:40 a.m. Those notifications mentioned that the suspected shooter appeared to be impersonating a police officer and urged agencies to monitor elected officials' residences. Asked about the teletype notifications, Fletcher said they lacked complete information and should have included lawmakers' addresses so law enforcement could know where to go. He also said the notifications included a description of the suspects' vehicle, even though the suspect had abandoned the vehicle at the Hortmans' Brooklyn Park house after encountering police. Fletcher is calling for a review of the events of June 14, possibly through a legislative audit, to answer questions about which agency should be responsible for notifying lawmakers and law enforcement of potential threats. The biggest concern, he said, is that it's unclear who exactly should be notifying lawmakers and state law enforcement of potential threats. While there were various messages sent by the sergeant at arms, legislative staff, and law enforcement agencies, the level of information available in different communications was at times patchy and delayed, he said. 'I was never suggesting at the time that I wrote the letter that we need to blame someone,' Fletcher said in an interview. 'In fact, my letter says we need to figure out who's even responsible.' A group of 150 sheriffs and police chiefs received a briefing from the Department of Public Safety on this week, Fletcher said, adding that the agency plans a review of what happened the morning of June 14. The House sergeant at arms falls under the authority of House leadership. House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said there will be a review of the response to the shootings. 'I am grateful for the prompt and heroic efforts by law enforcement on the day of this horrific attack,' she said in a statement. 'As with every major public safety incident, there will be top-to-bottom reviews of the response as well as significant work to examine improvements to safety and security measures.' Fletcher's letter to Capitol security and the House sergeant at arms comes as he continues to press state leaders to boost security at the state Capitol. In a July 1 letter, Fletcher asked members of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Security, a bipartisan panel chaired by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, to consider electronic screening of visitors. Measures should include metal detectors or X-ray machines to screen for weapons, the sheriff wrote, telling the committee that his office would be ready to assist with any efforts. The advisory committee so far hasn't weighed in publicly on any specific changes at the Capitol. In June, members issued a statement saying they were committed to boosting security but stopped short of endorsing any specific measures. MN counties could see strain, 250K could lose coverage under Medicaid changes in Trump's big bill Letters: It's our duty to rediscover the hope and promise of America Stillwater to consider downtown 'sip-and-stroll' social district St. Paul: Grants aim to support Arcade Street businesses during road work Boating permits, lane splitting, free water at shows: New MN laws start July 1
CBS News
17-06-2025
- CBS News
Teenager pleads guilty after investigators uncover cache of illegally possessed weapons
Here's a look at the deadly arsenal St. Paul police confiscated from a 17-year-old Here's a look at the deadly arsenal St. Paul police confiscated from a 17-year-old Here's a look at the deadly arsenal St. Paul police confiscated from a 17-year-old An 18-year-old man has pleaded guilty to owning a machine gun after an investigation at a St. Paul home in March recovered a cache of illegally possessed weapons, including a ghost gun. The teenager was 17 years old when Ramsey County authorities found the "ghost guns, automatic machine guns, multiple extended magazines and enough ammunitions for multiple drive-by shootings." According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a "ghost gun" refers to a firearm that has been assembled or completed by someone other than a licensed manufacturer. They do not have a serial number, which often makes them difficult to track. The teenager was charged with 12 felony counts all relating to the cache of weapons investigators found during their search. He pleaded guilty Friday in juvenile court to one count of owning a machine gun. He was placed on electronic home monitoring and house arrest. His sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday. Ramsey County Sheriff's Office Court records show that he was previously charged in a 2024 incident where he was alleged to have pulled a gun on someone at a rec center in St. Paul, though the charge was dismissed from the record after he served 180 days probation and a term of community service. Note: The above video first aired on April 2, 2025.
