Posted: 10/19/04
Caledonia men plead guilty in thefts, stolen property charges
Two Caledonia men pled guilty in Houston County District Court recently in two different cases.
ï Brian Goetzinger, 27, pled guilty on September 29 to receiving stolen property and possession of stolen property, both felonies.
His attorney, Dennis Rutgers, and Houston County Attorney Rick Jackson, reached a plea agreement that calls for 60 days in jail, 30 days on electronic home monitoring, and $2,200 in restitution.
Sentencing will occur on November 24 by District Court Judge James Fabian, who will make a final decision on the plea agreement.
The case involved two different incidents.
Goetzinger was charged on September 14 with possession of stolen property for having a 2003 Polaris ATV at his home that had been stolen in Allamakee County on September 13, 2003.
Goetzingerís wife, Amy, told investigators that he had purchased it from his nephew, who said that he had found the ATV in a ditch near his home in rural Dorchester, Iowa. He said it was wrecked and he thought he could have it.
Goetzinger was also charged on June 8, 2004 with two counts of receiving stolen property. He was arrested on February 17, 2004, for probation violation. Houston County Deputy Robert Schuldt noticed a snowmobile in the back of Goetzingerís truck. Investigators found that the Yamaha V Max snowmobile had been stolen.
Ambuehl pleads guilty
ï In the other case, Thomas Ambuehl, 43, pled guilty on October 7 to escape from custody, theft, criminal damage to property in the first degree, and theft of services. All are felonies.
A plea bargain reached between his attorney, Gregory Schultz, and Jackson recommends that Ambuehl serve a six month sentence starting after the expiration of a 180-day sentence for first degree driving while intoxicated. That sentence expired on October 18, but Ambuehl will remain in jail until he is sentenced on November 8. He is in the Goodhue County Jail in Red Wing.
A sentence of one year commitment in to the Department of Corrections was stayed.
Ambuehl was charged with theft of services on March 2, 2004, for stealing power from Tri-County Electric.
The theft and criminal damage to property charges were filed against Ambuehl on September 29, 2003, for stealing items from a truck that was stuck in some woods near his home the previous April.
The escape from custody charges were filed on June 8 after he failed to return to the Houston County Jail while on a job search in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He was caught on June 29.
Caledonia Argus
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