A Faribault man has suffered injuries after diving into shallow water. Rice County deputies and Water Patrol along with North Ambulance and Northfield Fire/Rescue were dispatched to the Fox Lake Public Access last night around 8:30. Upon arrival, responders found 48 year old Daniel Varness being attended to by other people near a boat about 100 yards from shore. Sheriff Dunn said, “thank goodness there was somebody there to assist” until First Responders got there. Varness was taken to a trauma center via helicopter. Dunn said his condition is
unknown at this time. Varness had attempted to dive into the water from his boat to work on the motor that had quit running. It is believed he struck the bottom in shallow water and suffered an upper body injury. Dunn warns, “Again, if you don’t know the depth, don’t go diving into the water”.
Suspected arrested in the burglary of downtown business
It took just one day for Northfield police arrested a suspect in the burglary of a downtown business. Just before 7am, on July 26th, Officers responded to report of a burglary at Elite Auto Care on Water St. Investigators reviewed surveillance video and gathered evidence which led them to 36 year old William Garcia Jones Jr. On July 27th, they executed a search warrant in the 900 block of Division Street and found items of clothing matching the person in the video and a checkbook from Elite Auto Care. Jones was arrested and charged with 3rd degree burglary. His initial court appearance is August 13th. Jones goes by a few aliases and has a very lengthy criminal history including burglary, theft, assault and forgery. Deputy Chief Mark Dukatz said this arrest is an example of the excellent work of Northfield Patrol officers and investigators. NPD PressRelease – Burglary Charges with Complaint – 08.01.18
K-9 finds hit & run suspect in soybean field
It was a Rice County K-9 that discovered a St. Paul woman who’s has been charged with 2nd degree DWI in the Hit and Run crash on Monday on Hwy 19. Sheriff Dunn said his Deputy found the suspected abandoned vehicle 3 miles from the scene of the crash, and his K-9 found the driver laying down in a bean field, “and had the dog not done that it might have been very difficult to find a person laying down because the beans are up now”. Sixty year old Ronda kay Kuklock has also been charged with leaving the scene, 5th degree drugs, as over 4 grams of methamphetamine was found in her vehicle, and failure to submit. Several people called 911 a little after 4pm that day to report a red toyota had hit a truck on 19 near Decker Avenue. Dunn said the victim saw her driving all over the road and was trying to avoid a head-on collision when Kuklock struck her front passenger wheel and she went into the ditch. The victim was uninjured. Kuklock has 2 previous DWI convictions from 2015. Her first court appearance is October 2nd. Kuklock complaint
Woman accused of forging checks to Menards
A Faribault woman is accused of writing nearly $1500 in bad checks to Menards in Dundas. After comparing signatures, reviewing surveillance video multiple times and speaking with a contact who verified that the person whose bank account was used died in 2015, 39 year old Sara Elaine Katra was arrested for check forgery, a felony. All four checks were written in December of 2017. Katra’s initial court appearance is August 14th. She has a lengthy criminal history including attempting to make methamphetamine, theft and DWI convictions. Katra COMPLAINT
