Posted: 10/19/04
Lawyer asks that terroristic threat charge be dropped
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The attorney for an Arkansas man accused of making terroristic threats has asked that the charges be dropped.
Public defender Kurt Knuesel of Winona made the motion in a September 13 court appearance on behalf of Rickey George, 40, of Violet Hill, Arkansas.
Knuesel is also asking the court to deny admission of three pieces of evidence: a telephone call that George made to his then-public defender, Ross Phelps of La Crescent, on August 9; an interview with Phelps on August 11; and a letter from Phelps to Houston County Attorney Rick Jackson on August 10.
The motions will be considered at an omnibus hearing on October 27 at 10:30 in Houston County Third District Court before Judge James Fabian.
George was charged on August 12 with one count of making terroristic threats, a felony; and two counts of disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. He has not entered a plea on any of these charges.
According to the criminal complaint, Phelps given a letter to Houston County Attorney Richard Jackson on August 10 stating that George had made a threat by telephone against the then-foster parents of Georgeís children.
George had made the call from the Houston County Jail, where he had been placed after being arrested on August 9 for allegedly violating a restraining order. That charge was dismissed on September 16.
George was released from jail on August 10 after making the telephone call, but before authorities were aware of its alleged content. After Phelpsí letter arrived, deputies arrested George at his residence at the Red Carpet Inn in Caledonia.
Two more incidents have been added to Georgeís court file since then. A complaint about him was registered by someone at the Houston County Historical Society in Caledonia on September 22. Another complaint was made by a worker at Woodland Industries in Caledonia on September 24.
George has also been charged with driving without a valid Minnesota license, fifth degree assault, and disorderly conduct. He pled not guilty to those charges on August 23, and has requested a jury trial. No date for them has been set.
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