Appleton man sentenced to five years in prison

WILLMAR -- Jovan Michael Riley, 20, of Appleton, was sentenced Tuesday to 60 months in prison and $1,050 in fines on two felony charges of possession of a weapon by a felon and third-degree assault, along with a misdemeanor theft charge, in three separate court cases.

As part of his sentence handed down in Kandiyohi County District Court by District Judge Donald M. Spilseth, Riley was given credit for 117 days already served in custody and ordered to pay $1,630 in restitution in the theft case. Restitution was reserved, to be determined later, in the gun and assault cases.

The theft charge stemmed from a Nov. 11 incident in which Riley used a stolen key to enter a woman's Willmar apartment and steal her television and electronics.

The assault charge was for beating a man on Jan. 12 in rural Pennock.

The man was taken to receive medical treatment and was kept overnight at the hospital.

He had a broken nose and eye socket and two fractures of his cheekbones.

The gun complaint was filed after Kandiyohi County sheriff's deputies were responding to the assault report on Jan. 12 and located a 1997 Chevy car that was reported stolen in Chippewa County.

The vehicle was damaged with broken windows and taillights and shotgun blast holes in the driver's side door. The interior of the car had been damaged by the pellets.

The investigation revealed that Riley had told others that that car belonged to a woman he had dated and that a witness had observed him use a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot at the car. Deputies located where the shooting had happened, along County Road 29, and found shell casings and pieces of the car.