Posted: 9/6/05
Schutte pleads not guilty, wants trial
James Dean Schutte, 24, Rochester, pled not guilty on August 29 to four counts of criminal vehicular operation resulting in death.
Schutte was the driver of a Pontiac Grand Prix that crashed into a tree on Green Acres Road on April 6, killing Matthew J. Atkinson, 20, of Backus, Minnesota.
Schutte, formerly of Caledonia, also requested a jury trial. No date for that had been set as of September 2.
He also faces four counts of criminal vehicular operation resulting in substantial bodily harm and one count of driving after revocation.
He is currently in the Goodhue County Jail in Red Wing because the Houston County Jail is at capacity. His bail is $50,000 conditional and $100,000 unconditional.
Another passenger, Kelly Jo Shefelbine, 34, of Rochester, who was in the front seat, had a back injury and two ribs broken.
Police officers reported that Schutte was driving at a high rate of speed before the accident, and that they detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle after the crash. A blood sample taken from Schutte at 11:54 p.m. at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center showed a blood alcohol concentration of .19.
Taylor charged with assault
In other court news, Jack David Taylor, 20, of Caledonia was charged on September 2 with two counts of assault in the fifth degree and one count of false imprisonment, all felonies.
His bail was set at $20,000 unconditional and $10,000 conditional. He was in the Houston County Jail as of September 3 when this paper went to press. No new court date had been set.
Taylor is accused of hitting a 14-year-old boy at Taylorís house on August 27. The boy told Caledonia Police Officer Alan Johnson that he had been punched with a closed fist and thrown to the ground. He said he was dragged into the kitchen and thrown against a refrigerator, then thrown into the cellar and locked up for 5-10 minutes.
Taylor told police that he hit the boy no more than two times. He said he was unsure of the details because he had been drinking.
The boy told police that another juvenile also assaulted him. That investigation is continuing, and the juvenile may be charged, county attorney Rick Jackson said on September 2.
Taylor was found guilty of fifth degree assault as a juvenile on April 1, 2003, and of terroristic threats on July 25, 2005.
Meiners pleads not guilty
Tiffany Meiners, 21, Caledonia, pled not guilty in Third District Court on August 29 to four felony counts of terroristic threats.
Meiners is accused of threatening her ex-boyfriend on August 8 in Spring Grove with a paintball gun that he and authorities mistook for a real hand gun.
Meiners requested a jury trial. No date had been set as of September 2. Meiners is out of jail on $7,500 conditional bail.
Two of the terroristic threat charges are Level IV, which carry maximum sentences of five years in jail and $10,000 fines. The other two are Level I, which have one year and $3,000 maximum penalties.
Assault charges at park
A Burnsville man was arrested on August 28 after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend at Beaver Creek Valley State Park.
Sheriffís Department deputies responded that Sunday morning at 6:25 a.m. after receiving a 9-1-1 call that a man was drunk and violent and had assaulted his girlfriend. They arrested Tyler James Primus, 23, who was charged with domestic assault, a fifth degree misdemeanor; possession of a small amount of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Primus appeared in court on August 29 and was released on his own recognizance.
Daley pleads not guilty
Ryan Leo Daley, 23, formerly of Caledonia, pled not guilty in Dane County Circuit Court in Madison, Wisconsin, on August 29 to being party to first degree reckless homicide. He was then bound over for trial. He is accused of purchasing the heroin that killed Sarah Stellner, 20, in Madison on April 26. Charges were filed on August 5.
Three other people face similar charges: Samuel Katz, 26, of Madison, was allegedly with Daley at the purchase, and has also been charged; Morgan Fenick, 18, of Madison, Stellnerís roommate, who has admitted to injecting the heroin into Stellner; and Lavina M. Mull, 25, of Madison, who allegedly sold the half gram of heroin to Daley at a Madison gas station for $100.
Daley, who lives in Madison, could face up to 40 years in prison.
Utke trial set
The trial for a Freeburg man charged with making terroristic treats has been set for Wednesday, October 19 at 9 a.m.
Terry Joseph Utke, 52, New Albin, Iowa, pled not guilty on May 23 to making terroristic threats, a felony, and violation of harassment restraining order, a gross misdemeanor.
On May 9, Utke allegedly confronted a man who was reading an electrical meter on property which adjoins Utkeís in Crooked Creek Township. Utke called him names, took pictures of him, and said he was ìgoing to kill him,î according to the criminal complaint.
The man, who had a restraining order on Utke, told authorities that he was scared and that Utke was going to kill him.
Caledonia Argus
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507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com