Posted: 4/5/05
Arrest made in drug, fugitive case
A Caledonia man was arrested last week for several alleged drug and traffic violations.
Gabrial Orion Lowther, 29, was charged on March 28 with sale of controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, and three traffic violations.
Lowther was also charged with being a fugitive from justice in North Carolina, where he was arrested for possessing 28.2 grams of cocaine. He is awaiting extradition for this.
He appeared in Third District Court on April 4, where he requested an omnibus hearing. No date had been set for that as of April 4.
According to the criminal complaint, Lowther was pulled over by Houston County Sheriffís Deputy Luke Sass while driving between Spring Grove and Caledonia on March 27. Sass detected a strong odor of marijuana. Deputy Michael Ernster found several small bags of marijuana on the roadside that hadnít been there earlier that evening.
A female passenger in the car told Sass that she had thrown about 20 bags of marijuana out the window. Ernster found a total of 10 bags.
Lowther then admitted to throwing them out the window because he was scared. He indicated that he was distributing it for another person.
His unconditional bail was set at $30,000.
Saukko pleads not guilty
In other court business, Dustin James Saukko, 20 of Caledonia pled not guilty on March 28 to four counts of felony theft and two third degree burglary.
The burglaries occurred at Caledonia Auto Center and the Caledonia Mall (the former elementary school) on February 22.
If no omnibus hearing is requested within 10 days, a jury trial will be set for Saukko, who is in the Houston County jail.
A 15-year-old male juvenile has also been charged in the case. He will make his first court appearance on April 11 at 2 p.m.
Goetzinger sentenced
Joshua David Goetzinger, 17, who pled guilty to motor vehicle use without consent and theft stemming from a January 2 incident, was sentenced on March 28 to a 120-day program at the Sheriffís Youth Ranch near Austin, Minnesota. Other conditions include paying restitution, doing community service work, working toward his GED, and chemical dependency counseling.
He also pled guilty to motor vehicle theft from a November, 2004 incident, and he pled guilty to assault in the second degree and criminal damage to property in an October, 2004 incident. His sentencing is for all of those crimes.
Police question homeless men
In Caledonia Police Department news, two homeless men were questioned in Caledonia on March 26.
According to police officer James Loganís report, Dustin Korte and Anthony Lynch were walking around the city that day asking where they could get some quick cash.
A Caledonia citizen thought they were following him and notified the police. Logan found them on a bench by the municipal liquor store. The officer found that there was a warrant on Lynch in Jackson County, Minnesota, for no Minnesota drivers license. After handcuffing Lynch, Logan found that he was wearing a hunting knife with a six inch blade.
Logan handcuffed Korte and took a small razor knife from him.
The men said they were homeless, and came to Caledonia to visit two friends at the West Main town homes. They didnít know their friendsí last names.
Jackson County notified Caledonia police that they would not extradite Lynch because he was more than 100 miles away. Both men were released.
ìThey were looking to score some quick money,î police chief Randy Shefelbine said. ìI think weíre quite fortunate there wasnít a stabbing or robbery.î
Burglaries in Brownsville
Two residential burglaries were reported on the afternoon of Friday, April 1 in Brownsville. Cash and jewelry were reported stolen in both cases. One break-in was by forced entry, in which a screen on a screen door was cut. The sheriffís department is investigating.
Caledonia Argus
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