Thursday, January 31, 2013
An altercation at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater began in the food service area Wednesday, when an inmate approached prison staff members with a complaint, and then allegedly attacked DOC four employees without warning.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections is investigating an altercation at the Stillwater prison on Wednesday that resulted in two workers being hospitalized. The altercation began in the prison’s food service area when an offender approached the staff members with a complaint, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. He then attacked four staff members without warning. Additional officers were immediately dispatched to the scene and the offender was taken into custody. A correctional officer and a contract food service employee were sent to the hospital as a result of the incident, both were treated and released. Two other employees received minor injuries. The DOC did not release additional details about the incident …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Minnesota Department of Corrections officials outlined specifics about predatory offenders during a recent meeting in Oakdale.
Oakdale is currently the only city in Washington County with a registered level-three predatory offender, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. That information was relayed to Oakdale residents recently during a meeting held after Ka Her, 36, moved to the city on Sept. 1 and became its first level-three predatory offender. Predatory offenders are assigned to one of three levels, depending on public risk. A level three predatory offender means there is a higher risk of reoffense; it's the only level that requires broad public notification. Of those assigned risk levels, 59 percent are level 1, 26 percent are level2 and 15 percent are level 3, according to the DOC. There are currently 280 registered sex offenders living in …
Monday, September 10, 2012
A Minnesota Department of Corrections employee allegedly sexually assaulted an inmate on three different occasions while they were in the vehicle and in the area of Minnesota Correctional Facility—Stillwater.
A Minnesota Department of Corrections staff member has been charged with sexually assaulting an inmate who was incarcerated at Stillwater Prison. Dean Michael Huhta, 39, of Chisago City, was charged by the Washington County Attorney’s Office this week with one felony count of criminal sexual conduct by a corrections employee. The allegations were brought to light after a 21-year-old man filled out a sexual assault survey upon being booked into prison. The man, who the complaint says was an inmate of the Stillwater Prison in fall of 2011 had served his time and was released from custody. The man was then arrested again in June 2012. Upon re-entry into prison, the criminal complaint states that the inmate was given a sexual assault survey, …
Monday, May 7, 2012
John King, a 30-year veteran of the Department of Corrections (DOC), was named the new Assistant Commissioner of the Facility Services Division.
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Monday, May 7, 2012
Commissioner Tom Roy has appointed John King, a 30-year veteran of the Department of Corrections (DOC), as the new Assistant Commissioner of the Facility Services Division. “John is an exceptional leader who has held a variety of jobs with the DOC,” Roy stated in a news release. “He is an excellent mentor with sharp knowledge of corrections. His experience, combined with his amiable personality, make him respected among staff. He will be a great addition to our team.” King has a vast range of correctional experience at four facilities and the department’s central office. After beginning his career as a correctional officer, King held various accounting and supervisory positions. He served as associate warden of operations and warden at …
The Star Tribune features Stillwater native David Crist, who is retiring as deputy state corrections commissioner after 33 years with the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
All of the inmates in Minnesota prison system were confined to their cells for 25 hours and weren't allowed any outside contact while authorities conducted a major sweep targeting members of a Native American gang on alleged racketeering charges.
All six people arrested in Tuesday’s take-down of "Native Mob" gang members pleaded not guilty to the racketeering and other federal charges filed against them. Aaron James Gilbert, Jr., and Justen Lee Poitra were released on bond pending trial, while Dale Wesley Ballinger, Jr., Cory Gene Oquist, and Dale John Pindegayosh were ordered by the court to remain in custody, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Damien Lee Beaulieu is scheduled for a detention hearing tomorrow in St. Paul. A seventh defendant turned himself in today. Matthew Steven Poitra, a/k/a Chewy, age 21, of Minneapolis, made his initial appearance in federal court today. He has been charged with one count of racketeering and one count of conspiracy to use and carry …
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Kent Grandlienard replaces Jessica Symmes as warden after she retired on Sept. 1.
Kent Grandlienard was chosen by Department of Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy as the new warden of the Minnesota Correctional Facility Oak Park Heights—the state’s only level 5, maximum-security prison. Grandlienard replaces Jessica Symmes as warden after she retired on Sept. 1. Grandlienard began his career as a corrections officer at the Stillwater prison in 1981 and worked his way up through the ranks, most recently serving as associate warden at Oak Park Heights prison. “I am honored to be selected as the warden, and look forward to the challenge of carrying on the high standard of wardens at this facility and throughout the DOC,” Grandlienard said. “I am also thankful that I will be able to continue to work with all the great staff…
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Stillwater resident Jessica Symmes will retire today as the warden of Oak Park Heights prison. She has worked for the Minnesota Department of Corrections for 35 years.
After 35 years of service with the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Stillwater native Jessica Symmes will retire today after serving five years as the warden of the Oak Park Heights maximum-security prison. At 5-feet tall, Symmes will lock down a career working in state prisons that started by filling a maternity leave in the clerical department at Stillwater Prison in 1975, and grew into work as a corrections officer, caseworker, supervisor, administrator and ultimately the warden of the state’s only maximum-security prison. A Career in Corrections Symmes, 56, graduated from Stillwater High School in 1973 and went on to the University of Minnesota to attend the College of Dental Hygiene. “I hated it,” Symmes said of her schooling at …
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
After 35 years with the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Stillwater native Jessica Symmes will retire as warden of Minnesota Correctional Facility in Oak Park Heights on Sept. 1. Kent Grandlienard will take over as the prison's new warden.
After 35 years of service to the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC), Jessica Symmes will be retiring Sept. 1 as warden from the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)–Oak Park Heights. Warden Symmes is a St. Croix Valley native, who grew up in Stillwater and graduated from Stillwater High School, and later, Metropolitan State University. Her career with the DOC has kept her close to home. Symmes started her career in a support position at the Stillwater prison facility in 1975 and later was hired as a corrections officer at Oak Park Heights where she rose through the ranks to watch lieutenant. During her career, Symmes has worked in many different areas of Oak Park Heights prison, as well as at Stillwater prison, where at one time …
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Rep. Kathy Lohmer says she is "very proud we did not raise taxes."
Hours after the longest continuous shutdown of any state government in United States history, Rep. Kathy Lohmer (R-Lake Elmo) is proud that there are “no new taxes.” “After an incredibly long, intense day talking within our caucus and on the floor, I am feeling really good about what happened,” Lohmer said. When republicans took to the floor Tuesday, “we were united,” Lohmer said. “There were no new taxes, spending was going to be capped at about $34 billion and I am really excited about some of the reforms that will curtail spending in the future.” Throughout the special session, insults were hurled, accusations were made and pleas were ignored, but in the end, the people’s business was finished. Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law all 12 …
dan jones
3:23 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
i was in stillwater prison and the officer who was assaulted treated inmates disrespectfully.im not saying she deserved it,but maybe she could have prevented it by treating inmates like human beings. more ›