By Teri Knight, News Director
Rice County Sheriff’s Deputies along with other agencies arrested a homicide suspect out of Las Vegas last night, Sheriff Troy Dunn reported this morning on KYMN. A Rice County Deputy located a suspicious vehicle at the Flying J Truck Stop, at I-35 and Hwy 19 at about 7:30 last night. Upon checking the vehicle registration, an alert advised him that the vehicle and registered owner were wanted in connection to a homicide in Las Vegas, NV that occurred on February 28th. Additional deputies and officers responded to assist. They attempted to make
contact with a lone occupant in the vehicle with no response. Members of the tactical team later used chemical aerosol and other non-lethal tactics to get the occupant to respond and exit the vehicle. When he didn’t respond, Dunn said he thought they may have a medical situation. So, just before midnight, officers entered the vehicle and took him out. He was arrested and turned over to Cannon Falls ambulance for treatment, eventually being transferred to HCMC where he is listed in stable condition. Rice County deputies have the suspect in custody at the hospital, until he is cleared to be transported to the Rice County Jail. He is being held on the Nevada homicide warrant pending extradition hearing. Dunn said the murder took place at a truck stop in Vegas. Sixty year old Mark Allen Doocy of Blooming Prairie is in custody. Dunn gave a shout out to, “all of our staff that worked this very high stress event and all of the assistance we received from our neighboring jurisdictions including Dakota County, Lakeville, Northfield, Faribault, Lonsdale (PD), State Patrol and then, of course, the Rice-Steele SWAT team”. They train for situations and it showed with no injuries to citizens and officers and minimal injury to the suspect. That truck stop is very busy but shutting it down was necessary to be certain the public was protected. Dunn has further details from his interview this morning that is posted on kymn.net.
NPD issues warning on COVID 19 scams
The Northfield Police Department is asking citizens to be wary of potential scams and misinformation circulating regarding COVID-19 or (coronavirus). Chief Nelson said, scammers love to take advantage of our fears and the spread of a new disease like COVID-19 can be scary. Watch out for scams and look for the red flags. Be skeptical of alarmist and conspiracy theory claims, miracle products to cure a long list of ailments and claims of “all natural” products. There is much more on our website with links to reliable sources on scams and on COVID 19 on our Community News page HERE.
Nfld Complete Count Committee explains 2020 census
Your presence counts! Every ten years since 1790, the US has taken a count of its people for two reasons, to ensure representation in our democracy and for taxation purposes. Northfield’s Complete Count Committee Chair, Corrine Smith said, starting in mid-March you’ll receive something in the mail inviting you to fill out the census online or by telephone to keep costs down. It will come in a plain envelope that says “Resident”, check to make sure it’s from the U.S. Government. Inside you’ll find instructions. If you don’t complete it, you’ll get a couple of reminders. If you still don’t, you’ll get a paper copy of the census in the mail. If you haven’t completed it by the end of April, you’ll be put on a list of those people who will get in-person census takers. The Complete Count Committee will have volunteers to assist folks to complete their census online at the library, the CAC, 50North and Greenvale Community School. As for security, individual information is held secure for seventy two years. Smith said with the count, “when all of this is calculated, we’ll know (for instance) how many 7 year olds live in Northfield, how many people define themselves as male or female, how many people are of Hispanic background, how many of different races we have, how many people own versus rent where they live. So we will have all that GROUP information”. That’s used then by school districts, governments for representation and businesses. She added that no authority figure or organization can get at your information including police, FBI or ICE. Census Bureau workers are sworn to secrecy under threat of a major fine and possible prison time. The immigrant community, here legally or not, has expressed concern as this administration wanted to add a citizenship question. She said that question has been on the census at times but written into the Constitution, the census asks for “persons” not citizens. That question is NOT on the census, which isn’t very long. Listen to her full interview HERE.
