- John James Quinn II, 36, of Spicer, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of driving while intoxicated.
As part of a plea agreement, an additional felony charge of driving while impaired and a gross misdemeanor charge for driving after cancellation - inimical to public safety will be dismissed.
According to the complaint, county dispatch received a call around 1:15 a.m. March 9 from a Willmar Ambulance Service rig that there was a wrong-way driver on state Highway 23 at Spicer. The ambulance driver reported the car was northbound in the southbound lane and had turned off onto a county road. Because of the fresh snowfall, the vehicle's tracks were the only ones visible on the roadway. The responding deputy followed the tracks, which weaved from the centerline to the shoulder, to a car that was parked in the driving lane. The car began to move when the deputy came upon it. The deputy initiated a traffic stop and found the driver exhibiting signs of alcohol use. Quinn admitted to drinking, but wouldn't say how much he had consumed. He failed field sobriety tests and was arrested. He refused a breath test at the Law Enforcement Center. He has previous convictions from incidents in August 2000, January 2003 and July 2006.
Quinn will be sentenced Aug. 28.
- Gerald James Springer, 28, of Willmar, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony fifth-degree controlled substance crime.
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Springer was arrested March 6 in Willmar after Willmar police were called to a complaint of a suspicious person in the parking lot of an apartment building in the 300 block of Lakeland Drive Southeast. According to the court file, the building caretaker pointed out a vehicle that did not appear to belong in the area and said there was a man from the vehicle inside the apartment complex. An officer approached Springer when he left the building, and Springer admitted that he had been there to purchase methamphetamine for the people he was with, and he told them he had a scale, a pipe and one gram of meth in his possession.
Springer will be sentenced Aug. 28.
- Eric Willard Dergan, 38, of Willmar, was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in prison, which was stayed, a $1,000 fine and five years of probation on a felony third-degree assault charge
As a condition of the stayed sentence, he was ordered to serve 120 days in jail, with credit for five days already served, complete a chemical dependency evaluation, comply with ongoing therapy programs and attend an anger management program if one is identified by probation.
He was also sentenced to 90 days in jail, concurrent to the 120 days in jail, and a $50 fine on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
He was found guilty of both charges in a May jury trial.
The charges were filed after Willmar police were called to West Central Industries around 12:30 p.m. Feb. 22 for an assault. Two men there told officers that Dergan had asked them for cigarettes and then followed them into the building, striking one man and grabbing the other man's genitals. One of the men sought medical treatment for a broken nose. When interviewed, Dergan said he hit the man in self-defense and grabbed the other as a joke.
- Joaquin Cortez, 20, of Willmar, was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation, a $50 fine and ordered to follow the rules and laws pertaining to customs and immigration on a felony charge of aggravated forgery.
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As part of a plea agreement, three other forgery charges were dismissed. He received a three-year stay of imposition on his sentence and credit for 168 days served in jail.
The charges were filed in January after Cortez was stopped by a Willmar police officer as he exited the Jennie-O Turkey Store plant on Benson Avenue. The defendant provided a driver's license identifying himself as Ronnie Ramirez. The complaint states that he also had in his possession other identification materials, including a W-4 form and Social Security card, in the name of Ronnie Ramirez.
He initially told the officer his name was Ramirez and that he was originally from Kansas, but after further questioning acknowledged that his name was Joaquin Cortez and that he was from Mexico.
- Darren Dwight Felton, 22, of New London, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in the county jail, a $1,000 fine and five years of probation on a fifth-degree controlled substance crime.
He was given credit for three days already served and may serve the jail time in Stearns County if he pays the fees and makes the arrangements. He was also ordered to complete a chemical dependency evaluation.
The charge was filed after a state trooper was on patrol around 8:20 p.m. Nov. 21 along state Highway 23 and noticed a car parked and running in a parking lot near 60th Street Northeast. The trooper trained his spotlight on the car and saw the male driver throw items into the back seat. Both men exited their vehicles and the trooper saw a green leafy substance on the man's shirt and a large clump of green leafy stuff on the ground at his feet. The man was very nervous and when the car door was opened, there was an overwhelming smell of marijuana. There was a large quantity of marijuana strewn around the vehicle, plus large plastic bags of marijuana halfway tucked into a computer case and another box in the trunk visible from the passenger compartment. Felton was arrested and officers searched the vehicle, finding drug paraphernalia and a total of 80.4 grams of marijuana.
- Iris Janeth Maldonado-Arreaga, 41, of Willmar, was sentenced Wednesday to 95 days in jail, with credit for 95 days served, a $50 fine and five years of probation on a felony charge of aggravated forgery.
She was also sentenced to 90 days of jail time, with 90 days of credit, and a $50 fine on a misdemeanor charge of identity theft.
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Maldonado-Arreaga was also ordered to cooperate with agents from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
As part of a plea agreement, four additional charges of forgery were dismissed. She is also known as Iris Janet Maldonado, Iris Yaneth Maldonado and Sonia Reyes Acosta.
According to the complaint, Maldonado-Arreaga was detained in April by agents from the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Willmar. That detention revealed that she was using a false name of Sonia Reyes Acosta. Agents continued to investigate and found that she had used the alias to get a Minnesota driver's license, apply for employment and sign numerous employment documents at Jennie-O Turkey Store.
