Ponemah resident, Gordon D. Johnson, 46, pleaded guilty on April 30 in federal court to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Kaishauna Sky Thunder of Redby. The incident occurred along Highway 1 on August 19, 2012.

In the plea agreement, Johnson said that it was around 3 a.m. when he was drunk and behind the wheel of his pickup truck, driving recklessly when he hit Thunder. She was walking along the highway.

Johnson now faces up to eight years in prison. His sentencing date has not been set.

His criminal history includes two other cases in Minnesota that involve three citations for driving with a revoked license and two drunk driving cases.

Minneapolis police said that Ivan Romero, 24, was killed when a squad car collided with the motorcycle he was riding. The officer, Joshua, Young, was responding to a supervisor request for more officers at the time of the motorcycle collision.

In an interview with two officers that came over a week after the shooting death of 22-year-old Terrance Franklin, police, the pieces are being put together.

Police say that Franklin hid in an Uptown home when he was confronted by police. During the confrontation, he tried to grab an officer’s gun.

The officers, Ricardo Muro and Michael Meath, were wounded in the incident and treated at a nearby hospital. Janee Harteau, Minneapolis Chief of Police, said that they had to be of a “sound mind” before they gave their statements because they had been placed on pain medication for their injuries.

Franklin’s friends and family stated that there is a lack of information regarding what happened in his death. The statements released by the police reiterated the fact that Harteau has offered to meet with Romero and Franklin’s families, but the families have declined this meeting.

Harteau said at a news conference that few details were given about the collision with Romero’s motorcycle. She said that the police car was only traveling up to 17 miles per hour and, when Young drove through a red light, traffic was stopped in both directions. Romero’s motorcycle rear-ended the squad car.

Police say that the ballistics evidence and DNA taken from the scene may take several more weeks to process.

The Minneapolis Police Department is performing the ballistics tests, while the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension performs the DNA tests. The police department says that the BCA does the DNA testing for all of their cases requiring it.

My law firm represents people hurt in a wide range of agricultural accidents, involving many different types of dangerous and defective equipment:

• Grain augurs
• Field cultivators
• Tractors
• Silos and grain bins
• Exposure to pesticides and other toxins

Talk to a Lawyer About Your Farm Injury

Are you considering legal action for your injury? To schedule a free initial consultation, contact my St. Cloud/Brainerd area law firm toll free at 1-800-940-8130.

On April 3, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture alerted consumers to not eat specific lots of pork, beef, pepper sticks, and other products produced by Belgrade Meat Center, located in Belgrade, which is in central Minnesota.

Routine sampling of the meat showed listeria was present, rendering the meat products defective.

The department has not yet received any reports of illness associated with the meat products and investigators are working to determine where the contamination came from.

Some of the meat was distributed under the name Pastures A Plenty. The recalled products include:

• Linden Hills Co-op in Minneapolis and Duluth Whole Foods – Uncured smoked breakfast links. This product may also b served at Café barbette, Gigi Café, and Bryant-Lake Bowl.
• Natedogs Mobile Food Card in the Twin Cities – Uncured pork wieners and smoked bratwurst.
• Selby Avenue Mississippi Market and the St. Paul location, as well as the River Market in Stillwater – Uncured pork wieners.
• The meat center’s retail location in Belgrade – 20 pound packages of pepper sticks. Consumers have been asked to return packages showing the lot number 318130 to the store to receive a refund.

Individuals who believe they have become ill from the meat products are encouraged to contact their doctor. While listeriosis is an uncommon disease, it is potentially serious. The common symptoms are a fever, neck stiffness, severe headache, and nausea. There are times when listeriosis can lead to fatal infections, especially in the elderly, infants, and individuals with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis can also cause stillbirths and miscarriages.

Eugene Farrell, 62, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal vehicular operation and one count of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the incident that occurred on December 18, 2011.

According to state police, there were two crashes that occurred in the incident. The first crash occurred around 11 p.m. when Marcus Andary’s pickup truck merged onto Interstate 94 heading westbound. The pickup ran into another car, which cause d that car to lose control and roll, blocking the left lane. Andary and another witness went to help the victim of the crash, Alicia Kaufenberg, 22, of St. Paul. Not long after, the second crash occurred.

The second crash involved Farrell, driving drunk, hitting Kaufenberg’s car and killing Andary and the assisting witness, Keith Barnes, 37. Kaufenberg was severely injured.

Farrell was driving a van and thought he had ran over a bumper from the initial accident. He said he stopped a short distance away and checked his vehicle, heading home from there.

There is video footage that shows a total of 1 minute and 40 seconds between the two crashes and that there were several vehicles pulled along the side of the road with emergency lights flashing before the second collision occurred. Farrell’s car did not brake until a fraction of a second before the collision.

Farrell has one prior conviction for careless driving on his record from May 2005.

Andary was a hockey standout when he was in high school in Marie, Michigan. He was a 2008 graduate of his high school and went on to play hockey at Iowa State.

Barnes’ neck was broken in two places; both legs and his shoulder were broken as well. Doctors had to amputate part of his left leg. Kaufenberg also had to have multiple amputations as a result of the accident.

Farrell is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14.

I have succeeded with claims against third-parties in the workplace by pursuing theories such as improper installation of a device, OSHA violations, failure to employ proper signage, and code violations.

I help injured workers bring personal injury and product liability lawsuits in Minnesota courts. For more than 20 years, I have successfully represented the victims of a wide range of work site injuries, including back and neck injuries, broken bones, amputation, injuries to joints, burns and lost limbs. For more information regarding my personal injury practice and how I can help you, contact my St. Cloud or Brainerd office today to schedule a free consultation.

Contact Stephen Gabrielson

If you are considering taking legal action, talk to an attorney about your work-site injury. To schedule a free initial consultation, contact my St. Cloud area law firm toll free at 1-800-940-8130. There are no costs or fees unless you recover.

When investigating truck accidents, I work with accident investigators in measuring skid marks, reviewing a driver’s log book, checking GPS data, reviewing fuel and credit card receipts, and interviewing eyewitnesses. I can often recreate the timeline leading up to a truck accident in order to determine if a truck driver was driving fatigued or speeding. Because of the sheer size of a truck, the injuries truck accident victims experience are often very serious. Truck accidents can cause orthopedic injuries, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and even wrongful death.

In order to ensure my clients receive the compensation they need and deserve, I work with medical economists and life care planners who work from cost-data information maintained by HMOs and insurance companies. As such, I am able to accurately account for costs associated with hospitalizations, surgery, in-home nursing care, physical therapy, medical equipment, and lost wages.

The Knowledge it Takes to Succeed in a Truck Accident Case

I have in-depth knowledge of the interstate regulations that truckers must follow. I often partner with top accident reconstructionists and medical experts in the Midwest to thoroughly investigate my clients’ accidents. With this extensive knowledge of the trucking industry, I am fully prepared to take on negligent drivers and the companies that employ them.

Act Quickly to Take Effective Legal Action. Contact Stephen Gabrielson.

When a truck accident happens, trucking companies respond immediately. They often send teams of experts out to the scene to collect evidence and begin building their case against you. Most truck drivers are trained by their employers in what to say and what not to say after an accident.

To get the results you depend on – compensation for lost wages and medical bills – it is critical that you take action as soon as possible after your truck accident. To schedule a free initial consultation, contact my St. Cloud or Brainerd office toll free at 1-800-940-8130.

If you were injured on someone else’s property, you may be able to take legal action. With offices located in the St. Cloud and Brainerd areas, I represent injured people throughout Minnesota in premises liability actions.

Premises liability claims are frequently governed by common law negligence concepts rather than statutes and regulations. As a result, the outcomes of these cases is often more predictable. Regardless, of your situation, I can help. Contact me at 1-800-940-8130 for a free initial consultation.

Your Free Initial Consultation

During your free initial consultation, I will ask you to describe your slip and fall accident and the injuries you received. I will then tell you what outcomes other people have experienced in similar situations. I will help you predict how Minnesota courts may handle your case.

I will also be able to answer any of your questions about your slip-and-fall claim:

• How do I get my medical bills paid?
• How long will my case take?
• What is going to happen to me in the court system?
• What happens if we lose the case?

If you are considering filing a lawsuit related to your slip-and-fall accident, talk to a lawyer. To schedule a free initial consultation, contact my St. Cloud and Brainerd area law firm toll free at 1-800-940-8130.

Children are frequently the victims of pedestrian and bicycle accidents. I have a long history of obtaining fair compensation for children and adults who have suffered injuries as the result of the negligence of motorists.

I have represented personal injury victims in courts throughout Minnesota for more than 20 years. I have enjoyed a history of success that includes the first million dollar personal injury verdict in Stearns County. I am a NBTA and MSBA Civil Trial Specialist, an honor given to less than 1% of attorneys in Minnesota.

Contact My Office About Your Pedestrian or Bicycle Accident

If you have been injured in a bicycle accident or a pedestrian accident, you can call me without cost or obligation. I will be happy to answer your questions and to discuss settlement issues. To schedule a free initial consultation, contact my central Minnesota law firm toll free at 1-800-940-8130.