Two suspects have been identified in the robbery of the Otsego branch of the Bank of Elk River Dec. 27.
Wright County sheriff deputies responded and confirmed that a single black male, later identified as Donald Anthony Jackson, 20 of St. Paul, had entered the bank and demanded money. Jackson fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.
Investigators were able to determine by video surveillance and witness statements that Jackson was assisted in the robbery by Kelsie Lynn Becklin, 19 of Elk River. Arrest warrants for felony simple robbery were obtained for Jackson and Becklin.
Jackson and Becklin turned themselves into authorities Dec. 29, at approximately 4:45 pm. They are currently being held on robbery charges at the Wright County Jail.
By Ivan Raconteur
Staff Writer
A 1992 Ford snowplow owned by the City of Winsted and driven by John Henry Schlechter, 37, of Winsted struck a parked and unoccupied 2001 Subaru owned by Gary Hansen of Lombard, Ill. on Christmas Day, according to the McLeod County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident took place on Northgate Drive north of Northgate Circle.
Schlechter was not injured, and each vehicle sustained less than $1,000 in damage, according to the report.
A single male suspect entered the Ostego Branch of the Bank of Elk River and demanded money from a teller and an undetermined amount of money was stolen Dec. 27, according to the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.
No weapon was used or implied. The suspect left the scene and it is unknown whether he left on foot or in a vehicle. The robbery is being investigated by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Wright County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Minnesota State Patrol and the Elk River Police Department.
The bridge across the crow river on McLeod County Road 84 south of Lester Prairie was closed Dec. 7 due to “serious deficiencies in the superstructure,” according to McLeod County Engineer John Brunkhorst.
Brunkhorst said the bridge will not reopen, and the county is looking at funding options for replacement of the bridge.
No bridge bonding funds are currently available, and Brunkhorst said he hopes the state legislature will consider a bridge bonding bill early in the session, which begins Feb. 12.
Several homes near the Winsted area have reported being burglarized in recent weeks, within McLeod County.
In addition, the Wright County Sheriff’s Office has also been busy with burglaries.
In Otsego, a resident interrupted a person burglarizing his house Dec. 19. With the help of his roommate, the resident subdued suspect Jerome E. Quellette of Otsego. Quellette told deputies that he recently lost his job and had broke into the house looking for some easy cash. Quellette was booked into the Wright County Jail on probable cause 1st Degree Burglary charges and Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana after a small baggy of marijuana was located in his pants pocket. Continue reading ‘Rash of burglaries reported’
A two-vehicle accident took place Christmas Day on Highway 7 and 190th Street, west of Silver Lake.
Gregory Paul Thomas, 22, of Hutchinson was injured in an accident while driving a 2003 Ford Focus owned by Donald Nelsen of Hutchinson, when he came into contact with Kevin Allen Cain, 21, of Rush City, Minn, who was driving a 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis. Both vehicles sustained more than $1,000 in damage.
Thomas was transported to the Hutchinson Hospital by the Silver Lake ambulance. Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts. Also assisting at the scene were the Silver Lake first responders and fire department.
The Winsted Lake Watershed Association (WLWA) elected new officers last December, and installed a new board of directors, as well. The group, dedicated to improving and preserving Winsted Lake, has accomplished many tasks in the last 12 months including updating by-laws and its mission statement. The association is currently waiting to hear back from the DNR on treating the lake to reduce curly leaf pondweed which kept many boaters off of the lake last summer, and it has started its planning for a grass strips project this next year, with the actual planting by landowners to hopefully begin in 2009. An article in the December 31st Herald Journal will list some of the lake issues facing the WLWA, both now and in the near future.
