After two days of trial 37 year old Demarcus Lemaine Barker, of Faribault, was convicted yesterday of Felony Third Degree Assault. Barker punched another man in the face during an argument in the victim’s driveway and broke his nose in February 2016. Barker asserted self-defense at trial. Rice County Attorney John Fossum, who tried the case, said Barker is expected to receive anywhere from 29-36 months when he is sentenced on April 4. He’s also scheduled for trial beginning April 24th on 9 felony counts related to drugs and drug sales from an arrest
in March of 2016. In that case, Barker led police on a chase, crashed and took off on foot. He was found with 250 grams of marijuana but law enforcement retraced the chase route and discovered cocaine, crack and methamphetamine along the roadside. The most serious charge, importing drugs across state borders, carries a sentence of up to 35 years. In 2011 Barker received 5 years in prison in the connection of the shooting of another man during a drug deal. He remains in the Rice County jail. Barker Demarcus complaint
Nfld Mayor looks for “robust” involvement in Strategic Planning
Northfield City Council has put Strategic Planning back on their list of to-do’s. Mayor Rhonda Pownell says, as part of the process, they’ll be doing an “environmental scanning” which is a major review of the City’s operating environment such as financial & economic conditions, demographics and workforce capacity. It’s a high level view that will allow the Council as a whole to see where they’re at. She added that there will be an opportunity for boards and commissions and the public to weigh in on the process. While the Comprehensive Plan is a long-range visioning document, the Strategic Plan, Pownell explains, is more of a 3 year document of the HOW the City will get to that vision. The Council has approved a contract with Craig Rapp who will start with the “scan’, set up a public process for input, a public survey, meet with Boards and Commissions and facilitate council work sessions on it. The hope is to have the “large” items determined by the end of April with a final plan ready to implement by mid-year. There will be multiple opportunities for the public to share their thoughts. You are encouraged to do that. As soon as that’s set up, KYMN will share that with you.
Rice County crime drops – Permit to Carry rises
Crimes are put into categories, Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn explains that Part 1 crimes are murders, robberies, serious assaults, burglaries, thefts and arsons. Between 2015 and ‘16, those crimes dropped from 174 to 168. Part 2 crimes are simple assaults, forgery, frauds, drug crimes, DWI’s and alcohol violations. He was really happy with the drop from 531 to 454 within the same time frame. Dunn said a lot of it has to do with the hard work of officers and deputies throughout the County. They’re really “hitting the drug task force thing very hard, very aggressive”. He says it’s not just the agents with the drug force but all the deputies and officers are working together to provide information and the public has become more involved by calling in and reporting things. He says with more drug arrests, comes a drop in other crimes such as theft. There was a huge jump in Permits to Carry from 454 in 2015 to 772 in 2016. Dunn added that they “really don’t have to take a lot of these away. Most of the people that are getting this are good law abiding citizens that aren’t breaking the laws”. Those licenses have to be renewed every 5 years, they also do annual checks. As for Permits to Purchase, that only went up slightly. For more go to kymn.net.
