Dakota County Grand Jury hands down First Degree murder charges
Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced that 23 year old Vern Jason Mouelle of Brooklyn Park, was indicted* by a Dakota County Grand Jury on Friday with two counts of First Degree Murder and two counts of Second Degree Murder. These counts involved the death of 25 year old Senicha Marie Lessman, of Eagan, and her unborn child and relate to allegations of premeditated murder and murder with intent to kill. Lessman was 32 weeks pregnant.
Lessman’s mother found her unresponsive on January 24th. Evidence led to Mouelle. He’s being held on $2 million bond and will make his first court appearance today in Dakota County court. Sentencing is May 10th.
Eureka Township man Guilty on 3 felony charges
Guilty – that’s the verdict of a Scott County jury. After 2 days of deliberations, the jury found 33 year old Matthew Hartley of Eureka Township guilty on 3 counts of of criminal vehicular homicide in the September hit-and-run death of 24-year-old Army Specialist Mollie Mahowald. The crash happened on Sept. 25th last year at 2:30 in the morning. The criminal complaint states that Hartley was driving his motorcycle at a high rate of speed when he hit her, sending her 20 to 30 feet in the air. While witnesses said he appeared intoxicated, the jury felt that could not be proved so they dismissed the 4th felony, of under the influence. He did not stop at the scene, testifying that he didn’t know he hit anyone. However, he did ask a friend to help him hide his badly damaged bike. A tip led police to the motorcycle on property at a property in Lakeville. At a settlement conference earlier, Hartley rejected the offer of up to 13 years in prison for 2 counts of criminal vehicular homicide, one by negligence, the other under the influence. He now faces up to 15 years in prison. Hartley has a very lengthy criminal history that includes alcohol, drugs, theft and forgery.
Nfld Estates cleans it up
The City of Northfield completed their re-inspection of Northfield Estates Friday morning. In January, after numerous complaints, the City’s Building Inspections Division confirmed violations related to health, safety and property maintenance. In a press release issued january 30th, they said “Due to possible health and safety concerns, these violations have risen to a level where additional action is required”. The property owner was ordered to complete necessary repairs. The City reported Friday, that all the items were corrected. They’re now authorized to issue a license to Pro 1 management. Administrator Ben Martig said they’ll need to complete the air conditioning covers and painting the fascia as weather permits. The City Building Inspections Department will be processing the one year probationary rental license. Staff will respond to any complaints on a case-by-case basis in the future. The 54 unit apartment complex on Hwy 3 was overrun with cockroaches and filth, there were broken and/or missing screens, inoperable CO and fire detectors, and some water fixtures in need of repair. It’s important to keep the units as clean as possible so the cockroaches don’t come back. Inspectron, Inc. of Rosemount completed the inspections. Nfld Estates Inspection Report Letter 
2-27-17 News
