A Duluth Shop Owner and his son are facing serious drug charges. They have been charged with allegedly selling Schedule 1 Stimulant Controlled Substances in a sting that involved undercover officers, according to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office.

Joseph Gellerman, 34, and James Robert Carlson, 55, and both of Superior, Minnesota have been charged with four counts each of fourth-degree sale of a Schedule I, II, or III controlled substance.

According to the criminal complaint, authorities began an investigation into the store called Last Place on Earth in response to a suspected drug overdose that resulted from bath salts called Riptide. Investigators were working to determine if Riptide was being sold at the main shop, which Carlson owns.

The undercover officers entered the store a number of times and purchased Riptide and another substance called Everest, which were both determined to be Schedule 1 controlled substances.

Bath sales are a relatively new drug on the market. At first, it was not known the effects, but it has been found that the substance, also referred to as “pipe cleaner” can be as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than other illegal drugs on the market.

Because of cooperation from the community, authorities were able to once again take down dealers of the deadly poisons, which has been touted to have some measure of victor and justice. Many of the individuals these drugs have been peddled to are vulnerable to addiction and the results can be deadly.

The prosecutor in the case will be Assistant County Attorney Jon Holets.

A Duluth man who had previously received a probationary sentence after he drove drunk, crashed into vehicle, and then seriously injured a Duluth Police Officer, has been sentenced to four years in prison after he was convicted of drunk driving a second time.

Duane Klynn Porter, 27, entered a guilty plea in March to a felony offense of first-degree DWI and to driving after cancellation of his driver’s license. Porter was sentenced to four years in prison on the DWI conviction and one year for driving after cancellation. Both sentences are to be served concurrently.

Porter has had problems with alcohol in the past and issues with the law since he was a minor. It was revealed in court that he had 10 underage consumption citations, two fifth-degree assault convictions, eight felony auto thefts, and three cases of giving police a false name. He also has a third-degree aiding and abetting arson conviction and a first-degree criminal damage to property conviction.

According to the criminal complaint, porter was arrested by a Proctor police officer on January 17 on the suspicion of drunk driving. He was given the chance to call an attorney, but called someone else about getting him more beer.

After taking a breath test, it was found that he had a blood alcohol concentration over three times the legal limit in the state of Minnesota. Police said that porter became combative and said that the cops were playing a game and that he was going to play his, asking them if they remembered when he hit their partner.

It is believed that porter was referring to an incident in March 2001 when he was driving with a blood alcohol concentration of over three times the legal limit and collided with a car driven by a Duluth Police Officer after blowing through a stop light. The officer was severely injured and was just days away from retirement.

When an investigator investigating that crash in 2011 asked Porter how much he had to drink before colliding with the officer, he told the investigator that he hadn’t consumed enough, according to the complaint. The officer, who was at one time Duluth Police Department’s Investigator of the Year suffered bleeding of the brain, a concussion, cuts around both eyes, and bruising around internal organs. He is now retired.

After Porter was convicted of that driving offense, he spent a year in prison, where he was to undergo chemical dependency treatment and follow recommendations. Porter would later violate probation by entering an establishment where alcohol was the main source of revenue, which is forbidden in his probation. This caused his probation to be revoked and he was sent to prison again.

On April 5, 2012, porter was released from prison, but he didn’t report to his probation officer on June 2 and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was again returned to prison and released on November 24, 2012.

Approximately 54 days after being released from prison, Porter was arrested for this latest drunk driving charge, leading to the four year prison sentence.

Excessive drinking led to a beating that left one Northern Minnesota dead.

Leslie Headbird, 44, was beaten so badly on a March evening that police were unable to resuscitate him when they arrived at a Quill Lane residence, which is the same street in which Headbird lived.

Police did not state whether or not a weapon was used in the fatal beating. However, a man and a woman, 18 and 29 respectively, were arrested for the beating not long after Headbird’s death and booked in the Beltrami County jail on second-degree murder charges. They were formally charged on March 25, according to the Beltrami County Attorney’s Office.

Two others were injured in the fight. They were Headbird’s mother, Gloria Headbird, 62, and a 33-year-old man who has not been identified. Both were treated at the Bemidji Medical Center and said to be in good condition.

Previously, Tress Lee Bisonette, 39, and Leonard Dean Headbird, 37, had been arrested at the home for disorderly conduct. Leonard Headbird had violated a no-drink order, which he was taken into custody for. Bisonette was arrested on child endangerment charges because there was a small boy found in the home. The boy was taken into protective custody.

Both Leonard Headbird and Bisonette had blood-alcohol levels that were more than three times the legal limit. Several individuals at the scene were given breathalyzer tests after Headbird’s death was discovered. A number of individuals blew more than .40 percent. This is an alcohol level in which most people would have died. This is well above the legal threshold of .08 in Minnesota.

It was later that day that police had to go back to the home to break up a fight that involved nearly a dozen individuals. This is when the bloody scene was found.

The 18-year-old arrested in Headbird’s death was named as a suspect rather quickly. He was located in Cass Lake after he attempted to steal a vehicle after stopping it. He then tried to break into a nearby home. He was taken to Cass Lake Hospital to receive treatment for minor injuries before he was questioned and taken to jail. It was not said where the female suspect was arrested or what her exact involvement was.

What police have concluded is that Headbird’s death is not gang-related. What they do know is that it is a death born of intoxication.

A man was arrested after an 18-year-old Minnesota woman was found dead in a towed car and it was determined that she was hired by the man as an escort.

The man is also wanted on three escort attacks in Georgia.

The 23-year-old man was taken into custody early in March as a suspect in the murder of Brittany Clardy of St. Paul. He was then formally charged with the murder.

A Sheriff’s Commander with the Anoka County Sheriff’s office said that the suspect had made some admissions in the case, but he did not elaborate on what those admissions were.

Clardy’s body was found hidden in her mother’s car on February 21. This was eight days after the car was found in Brooklyn Park and towed. Clardy’s parents had not seen her since February 11 when she was to go to the store and never returned. Authorities have not realized a lot of details about the case other than that they arrested someone in the case.

Clardy was allegedly working as a prostitute and had been posting online ads for several months. Her parents were not aware of her profession, but others closer to her were aware.

Surveillance video showed Clardy went to the store as she told her parents she was going to do, but she never made it home.

After the Clardy car was impounded, she was informed via letter. When St. Paul police arrived at the impound lot, they discovered Clardy’s body. Her cause of death was not released.

Police also found prepaid cell phones in the car and used them to narrow down the list of suspects, including potential clients of Clardy’s.

Authorities in Chamblee, Georgia said that the suspect being held in Minnesota was also wanted in Georgia on three assaults. It is believed that there could be more victims in Georgia. Authorities in Georgia say that they plan to bring the man there to face the charges filed against him.

Just like in the Clardy case, the man had hired women for sex from a website and then the women went to his apartment. The man paid the women, but then he began assaulting them and they all three escaped. One of the women was held captive and raped repeatedly and beaten for a total of 36 hours. The woman was allegedly gagged, tied up, and had escaped from a storage bin that was stuffed in the car. It has been said that there was an accomplice in the attack, but that man is still at large.

A teacher who was accused of molesting a number of young girls at the school where he taught, appeared in court early in February and details about a previous felony conviction came to light.

This is a case that has led schools in Minnesota to evaluate their hiring practices. The former  special-education teacher, Jason David Barker, is accused of three separate counts of criminal sexual conduct. Those counts include fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct and second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

At his court hearing, Barker did not enter a plea and simply sat in silence. The judge scheduled his omnibus hearing for February 27.

After his arrest, Barker, 37, was conditionally released on bond. The conditions of his release include not being allowed to leave the state, but he can drive to La Crosse for shopping and banking as long as he does not enter La Crescent.

The judge also amended the criminal complaint, which initially labeled Barker as a special-education director. He is actually a teacher.

It was found after Barker’s arrest that he was convicted of third-degree burglary in 1994. He was also convicted of first-degree criminal damage to property in 1995. This was a felony conviction, as he had used some type of gun to shoot two vehicles as they were passing by.

In 2006, Barker was managing a mini-golf course in Coon Rapids when he was charged with providing alcohol to two underage female employees, according to the court documents. Barker is currently facing two felony charges in Winona County for threatening to stab a couple. He has pleaded not guilty in that case.

The most recent charges come after students confronted him with accusations of sexually touching three girls under the age of 13, according to the complaint. Barker has denied these allegations to school officials and employees. He has said he loved the students.

30 people have been arrested in the Duluth area after they were caught selling crack cocaine. A number of individuals involved in the ring were also arrested in Superior, Wisconsin.

In a 10-month operation called “Operation Crackdown,” officers from the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and the Duluth Police Department made the bust.

In most cases, authorities record the serial numbers of cash that is used to buy drugs. Unfortunately, that was not the type of information available this time. What made this case unique is that the alleged drug dealers obtained items of value, such as food stamps and groceries in exchange for the drugs.

An undercover police officer collected a grocery card full of eggs, bread, beef, and a number of other items so that they could trade the food items for crack cocaine. This is what led to authorities finding that the alleged drug dealers were using SNAP cards in exchange for drugs. By using the benefit cards to buy drugs, cases were built against seven of the suspects for wrongfully obtaining public assistance. They were also charged with drug crimes.

Operation Crackdown started in May as a simple drug investigation, but it became much more when authorities learned of the public assistance fraud.

It all started when one of the suspects had posted bail for another drug charge and wanted to find a way to sell drugs without actually taking money for the drugs. According to the complaint, he did not want to be caught with cash, so he started taking groceries instead. A person who does such a thing is better able to explain a physical item than they can cash. It was through this particular case that authorities learned of other drug dealers using EBT cards instead of cash to deal drugs.

The dealers would sell 4100 worth of cocaine for $200 of the benefits on the card. Sometimes the drug dealer would go to the store with the card owner in order to receive the $200 in groceries.

Many of those arrested have rather extensive criminal histories, including weapon violations, drug trafficking, and violent crimes. Most of the suspects are transients, so they don’t have permanent addresses. They simply stay with people they are acquainted with and sell drugs out of these residences. Some of the suspects are from the Twin Cities, but they are also from Chicago and Detroit.

At the time of the bust, more than two ounces of crack cocaine was found. It was found that there was really no head drug dealer in the ring. All of the individuals were grouped in cells or pods and they would just work together.

A St. Paul man has been found guilty on four counts stemming from a November 2011 gang rape of a teenage girl.

Mang Yang, 25, was found guilty of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, kidnapping, crime for benefit of a gang, and First Degree Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Sexual Conduct.

Yang was part of a gang called the True Blood 22 gang. He and eight other members conspired to get a 14-year-old girl drunk at a house party that was held at an abandoned home on the 200 block of St. Paul’s White Bear Avenue North. When the girl tried to leave the party, she was pulled from a car against her will, carried back into the house, and taken to a bedroom.

Investigators state that the reason why the gang rape stopped was because a lookout in the kitchen told the attackers that the police were on their way.

During the act, four underage individuals from the gang held the girl down while Yang and four older members raped her. The ages of all of the adult men ranged from 18 to 37. The four juveniles have also had charges filed against them and Ramsey County Prosecutors want to try them as adults.

As for the victim, she has been commended for her bravery, as has her family, for coming forward about the rape. John Choi, the Ramsey County Attorney, stated that the community will hold those responsible for sex crimes accountable for their crimes. He said he is moved by the courage of the girl and her family to come out with what happened because doing so is not an easy thing to do.

Yang is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on February 27. The guideline sentence for the offense is 24 years in prison.

The police say DWI and a man says he took a 12 mile walk.

William Coy James, 33, has a past that consists of a deadly DWI. This time, he crashed his car on U.S. 52 and fled the scene. Now he has been charged with fourth-degree DWI because he had a blood alcohol concentration of over .08. Both charges are misdemeanors if he is convicted.

According to the criminal complaint filed on January 18, the Minnesota State Patrol was told at 8:40 p.m. on June 26, 2012 by dispatchers that there was a U.S. 52 crash in the Concord Street area. What the trooper found was a wrecked Pontiac convertible parked near the end of the ramp in a grassy area.

The dispatcher the told the trooper that a witness saw two people run from the area of the car. Not long after and not too far from the wreck, the trooper saw a man walking on the grass and the man was in possession of the keys to the Pontiac. This man would later be identified as James.

A breath test was given and James blew 0.109. This is when James told the trooper that he had one drink at the Lamplighter strip club. He then said that he had one shot after the crash had occurred and that he had this shot at the Lamplighter. The trooper did not feel this explanation to be credible because it would be a 12 mile walk from the crash site to the lamplighter and back to the crash site.

After being told this explanation, the trooper stated in his report that he arrested James and took him to Regions Hospital. The trooper did not state in the complaint if James was injured, but a urine test at the hospital showed James’s blood alcohol concentration to be .08.

James has been charged by summons and will make his court appearance on March 26.

James was convicted in 2001 of two counts of DWI involuntary Manslaughter. The accident occurred in Missouri. There is not much information available on this particular case. The Pontiac that James was driving on the night of the accident did have Missouri plates.

A January 1, 2012 stabbing incident outside a Northfield pub is now sending a Burnsville man to prison.

Christopher James Schuenke, 36, was convicted in Rice County for the stabbing of a Northfield Musician. The two counts of second-degree assault hold a maximum penalty of $14,000 in fines and up to 7 years in prison.

Schuenke was, however, acquitted of the most serious charge, which was first-degree assault and was also acquitted of third-degree assault.

In the criminal complaint that was filed in Rice County District Court, the victim told authorities that he was leaving a Northfield Pub early on New Year’s morning with his musical equipment in tow. He said he had to squeeze past a stranger who was blocking the very narrow walkway that he was heading through as he made his way to his car.

The victim said he placed his equipment in the car and, when he turned around, the stranger got into his face and accused him of pushing him in the walkway. The victim then pushed the stranger away, turned back to his car, turned back around to see where the stranger was, and found Schuenke standing just a few feet away with a knife at chest level. The victim said he had nowhere to run to, so he pushed toward Schuenke to try and knock him out of the way. This resulted in a struggle with them both falling to the pavement. Schuenke fell on top of the victim and that’s when the victim said he felt his ear cut and then a stab in his abdomen.

Shortly after, the victim’s wife came out of the pub and saw the middle of the fight. At this point, the victim had Schuenke in a choke hold and yelled for her to call the police.

A witness said he left the pub around 1:30 a.m. and saw the two men shouting at each other, as well as the knife in Schuenke’s hand. The witness said he shouted a warning to the victim and threw his cell phone at Schuenke. Schuenke then grabbed the witness and they struggled until the witness could escape. The witness discovered that his hand had been cut and that there were two punctures in his jacket.

Other witnesses in the pub said they had heard Schuenke say prior to the incident that he wanted to stab someone.

As for the victim’s injuries, doctors said that he was stabbed in the lower left of his abdomen with penetration of 6 cm. His injuries kept him from work for two weeks, he needed assistance getting dressed and standing up, and had to have help with other basic tasks. He told police that walking was also difficult for him.

Schuenke is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10, 2013.

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Charged with selling methamphetamine out of a Burnsville hotel room, a couple is now facing felony drug charges after police entered the room and found a large quantity of meth.

The couple, Sara Rose Wessbecker, 27, and Paul Anthony Applegate, 23, have both been charged with first-degree aiding and abetting in the selling of drugs and first-degree aiding and abetting in drug possession. Each charge warrants $1 million in fines and up to 30 years in prison. Each defendant also faces a $300,000 mandatory minimum fine.

The criminal complaint states that the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force had secured and executed a search warrant for the hotel located on West Burnsville Parkway. The November 7^th warrant execution took place at approximately 2:00 p.m. Wessbecker and Applegate were both in the room at the time and officers stated they heard the toilet flush right before they entered the room. The search of the room turned up a syringe containing 60ccs of a clear fluid, a digital scale, another syringe, and a bag of 6.3 grams of meth.

Before the search concluded, 10 syringes were found inside a purse with one containing a clear liquid and a duffel bag was found to contain 48 grams of meth.

Applegate told police that Wessbecker had rented the room and that he had just been staying there. He said he was using the bathroom when the officers came to the hotel room door, but he said he did not flush the toilet like the officers alleged.

Applegate further told officers that Wessbecker was the owner of the needles, but he did admit that he had used meth the day before. He said he had ingested the meth rather than injected it, but the officers could see injection marks and bruises all over Applegate’s arms. Despite this visual evidence, Applegate said that there would probably be drugs in the room, but that he was not the owner of those drugs.

Wessbecker then told the officers in a statement contradictory to Applegate’s that the room was rented for Applegate and that he was the one selling meth. The complaint further states that she admitted to using methamphetamine for years and that she and Applegate had smoked meth earlier that day.

Wessbecker was later released on bond from custody, but Applegate continued to be housed in the Dakota County Jail while both were awaiting omnibus hearings in Dakota County District Court.