District Court, Kandiyohi County
- William James Lacy, 40, of Willmar made his first court appearance Monday on charges that he tried to strangle his girlfriend. He was charged with one count of domestic assault by strangulation and one count of domestic assault. According to the criminal complaint, Lacy accused his girlfriend of cheating on him and became enraged when she denied it and began choking her. On two occasions he lifted her off the ground by holding onto her throat. While he was choking her, he also punched the woman in the eye.
When she escaped, she ran to a bedroom and returned with a handgun and pointed it at Lacy. The gun was not loaded, according to the complaint. Lacy grabbed the woman and twisted her arm behind her and banged her head against the wall until she dropped the gun. Lacy left the house and the woman was able to call 911.
Judge Michael Thompson denied Lacy's request for a public defender. Unconditional bail was set at $15,000, or he could be released on his own recognizance if he followed conditions, including having no firearms.
The next court appearance is set for March 13.
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- Joel Garcia, 26, of Willmar was arraigned Monday on one count of domestic assault in connection with an incident reported at 12:22 a.m. Sunday in the 900 block of Gorton Avenue Northwest. Garcia is charged with assaulting a woman and two children.
Judge Michael Thompson set unconditional bail at $2,000, or he could be released on his own recognizance if he met certain conditions, including abstaining from alcohol and having no contact with the victim.
A pretrial hearing is set for March 28.
- Arnulfo Levario, 21, of Willmar, was sentenced Monday to five years in jail for entering a woman's house and molesting her. The jail sentence was stayed and Levario was placed on five years of probation and given credit for 91 days he already served in jail. He was also ordered to pay $1,087 in fines and fees.
Levario was charged with one count of burglary in the first degree and one count of criminal sexual conduct in the fifth degree for an Oct. 15 incident in Willmar.
- Jeremy Justin McKenna, 27, of Willmar was sentenced Monday to 17 months in jail for stealing bank and identification cards from three women and using the cards to obtain cash. Judge Kathryn Smith stayed all 17 months of the sentence. He was given credit for 118 days he served in jail and was placed on probation for five years. He was ordered to pay restitution of $1,338.39 and fines and fees totaling $1,587.
McKenna had been charged with 12 counts, including multiple charges of theft, receiving stolen property, criminal damage to property, tampering with a motor vehicle and financial transaction card fraud.
In an earlier court appearance, McKenna pleaded guilty to one count of financial transaction card fraud and one count of receiving stolen property. The other charges were dismissed. The charges stem from several incidents in October when McKenna took purses belonging to three women. He had also stolen a police scanner with the frequencies tuned to the local police, fire and ambulance departments.
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- Jonathan Michael Hayes, 28, of Willmar was arraigned Monday and charged with one count of theft for taking more than $500 from Godfather's Pizza, where he worked.
The incident occurred about 8 a.m. Friday morning when Hayes admitted to the manager of Godfather's Pizza in Willmar that he had taken a small amount of money from the register. After the money was returned, the manager said he was going to call a supervisor where Hayes lived so that the three could talk about recent incidents at work. Hayes allegedly told the manager that he'd taken $200 from the restaurant earlier in the week.
A short while later, according to the criminal complaint, the manager noticed that Hayes was gone, as well as $525 from the bank deposit bag and the blue Chevy pickup Hayes had permission to drive to and from work.
According to Willmar police, Hayes drove the pickup to the Minneapolis area but later returned to Willmar and turned himself in to authorities Saturday night. The vehicle was returned and Hayes was not charged with its theft.
Judge Michael Thompson set unconditional bail at $15,000, or Hayes could be released on his own recognizance on the condition that he reside at a Christian halfway house, have no contact with employees from Godfather's and does not go to Godfather's restaurant.
His next court appearance is set for March 13.
Consequences of vandalism
WILLMAR -- Vandalism to an elevator at the Willmar High Rise resulted in potentially serious consequences for a third-floor resident who needed emergency medical treatment Monday morning.
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Earlier this month Willmar police had been informed that one of the apartment's two elevators was undergoing a major renovation and would be out of order for several weeks.
At 8:44 a.m. Monday, police received a call that someone had kicked the door of the remaining elevator, causing it to not work.
Shortly after receiving the report of the severely damaged elevator, police received an emergency call from a High Rise resident who needed ambulance service.
Because neither elevator worked, the ambulance crew -- with the assistance of three law enforcement personnel -- carried the 77-year-old man down three flights of stairs to the ambulance. He was taken to Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.
According to Willmar police, there was about $2,000 in damage to the elevator. It's likely the age of the elevator will make it difficult to find replacement parts. Plans were in place to replace the elevator with a new model, but a Willmar police officer said it could take about 3½ weeks to receive the necessary equipment and get it installed.
Two juveniles arrested in auto theft
WILLMAR -- A vehicle left running and unlocked Sunday night in the SuperAmerica parking lot was stolen by two Willmar teens. They were later apprehended and the vehicle recovered.
According to Willmar police, the boys, ages 14 and 16, took the 1995 Nissan Pathfinder about 7:11 p.m. Sunday. The owner told police he came out of the store and saw his vehicle heading east on Becker Avenue. A relative of the victim, who was also at SuperAmerica at the time, attempted to follow the vehicle in his car and called police on his cell phone.
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The teens stopped at one of their homes and stashed items, including stereo equipment and speakers that had been in the Pathfinder. The witness then caught up with the teens and followed them to Wal-Mart. The boys parked the vehicle in front of the store and went into Wal-Mart, where they were apprehended by police.
They are being held at Prairie Lakes Youth Programs, a juvenile detention center in Willmar.
Theft
NEW LONDON -- Stereo equipment was reported stolen from a vehicle at 3:31 p.m. Sunday in the 20000 block of 121st Street Northeast.
WILLMAR -- An Alpine stereo face plate was reported stolen from a vehicle at 10 p.m. Sunday while the vehicle was in the SuperAmerica parking lot.
