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U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger using office to fight violent crime
When he was sworn in on March 30, 2022, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said the landscape of the state he had first served from 2014 to 2017 was drastically different.
ST PAUL, Minn. — A sense of lawlessness in Minneapolis is what propelled Andy Luger to seek the office of the state’s top federal prosecutor for a second time.
When he was sworn in on March 30, 2022, he said the landscape of the state he had served from 2014 to 2017 was drastically different. The rate of violent crime, particularly in Minneapolis, had reached such high levels he said he knew the federal government had to get involved.
“We as a society have come up with far more destructive ways to kill each other,” Luger said. “And so we have to address it. Fentanyl being one, and the proliferation of automatic weapons through these switches or auto spheres, as they’re called, that didn’t exist before. And that’s changed the game.”
Gang activity exploded in the last five years, he said, because of a perfect storm. That storm consisted of the pandemic closing down the courts, the riots following George Floyd’s murder and the shortage of police officers that followed.
“There grew a sense — and I’m not saying this because it’s what I think, it’s what people we prosecute tell us — is that there came to be a sense that there weren’t consequences or they weren’t severe enough consequences,” Luger said.
That’s why he made the unprecedented decision to use the considerable power and resources of his federal office to prosecute crimes normally handled at the state level.
“We decided, and by ‘we’ I mean law enforcement, myself and others, that we needed to step in in a big way, in a way that this office hasn’t done before. It certainly wasn’t doing when I was U.S. Attorney last time. But that this had to be our focus, both to change the narrative on the streets and to show people we meant business.”
The first sign he meant business came in early May when Luger announced a massive gang bust using the federal RICO Act, normally used to prosecute organized crime in mafia cases, to indict more than 40 alleged gang members.
His office now also prosecutes carjacking cases, which was unheard of, he said, in his first term.
“I never once heard the term ‘carjacking,’” Luger said. “In 2021, there were 650 carjackings in Minneapolis alone, so we went from 0 to 600 overnight. That forced us to become a U.S. attorney’s office and a city that focused on it.”
Luger said he wants criminals to understand when they are tried for a crime in federal court, the consequences are drastically different than in state court.
“You don’t have a constitutional right to bail in the federal system,” he said. “And if you’re involved in violent crime, chances are you’re not going to be released. We catch. There’s no release. There are federal prisons all over, and we don’t have parole. So, if you get sentenced to a 10-year mandatory minimum for having a switch, for having a weapon, you’re going to do the time and do it somewhere else.”
Luger believes that word about federal involvement in fighting crime and the steeper consequences it brings is getting out.
“They tell me it is. The people on the streets are telling us loud and clear that it is.”
Luger’s decision to aggressively fight crime at the federal level has won him the admiration of many who felt state and local leaders were too soft on crime for too long.
But when asked if state or local leaders are to blame, he says, the issue is too complicated to point fingers.
“Here’s what I say at dinner parties, and I get invited to fewer and fewer dinner parties because I just tell people what I think the truth is. I think we look for simple solutions to really complex problems. And so violent crime is complex. Anybody who reduces the criminal justice system to a bumper sticker isn’t being honest. There’s no catchphrase. Tough on crime. Soft on crime. Nobody’s got a magic solution. You try things. Not everything works. But we got to try.”
He said it will take about two years to see if what he’s trying is working — but he believes it will.
“I’d like to believe, and it’s my passion, that we can be the Minneapolis and the Minnesota that we were before the pandemic. Violent crime was not something people were talking about. I want us to be back there. And that would be an amazing legacy to leave with this whole office, making our part of that difference.”
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The child was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for scratches and bite wounds to the head, face and legs.
BREMERTON, Wash. — A child and their mother were attacked by a river otter at the Bremerton Marina Thursday morning.
According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), a woman and her young child were walking on a dock around 9:30 a.m. when the river otter pulled the child into the water. The woman said the child was underwater for a few moments before resurfacing.
WDFW officials say the otter kept attacking the woman while she pulled the child out of the water.
The child was treated at a hospital in Silverdale for scratches and bite wounds to the head, face and legs. The woman was bit on the arm.
“We are grateful the victim only sustained minor injuries due to the mother’s quick actions and child’s resiliency,” said WDFW Sergeant Ken Balazs said in a prepared statement. “We would also like to thank the Port of Bremerton for their quick coordination and communication to their marina tenants.”
According to WDFW, the otters in the marina will be “trapped and lethally removed” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, then tested for rabies.
River otter attacks are rare, and WDFW officials advise against instigating any close encounters. There have been six documented human-river otter incidents in Washington state in the last decade.
“When we do see this on the rare occasion that it does occur, it’s for territoriality or protecting its pups. If it’s a female, protecting its pups,” said Matt Blankenship with the WDFW.
And while many think of them as cute, curious creatures. They can cause serious injuries.
Jen Royce, who lives in Bozeman, Montana, was attacked by a river otter last summer. The damage was extensive.
“I had really large bite wounds on each cheek. A really big gash on this left side of my eye here.. luckily it didn’t get my eye.. it bit through my nose,” Royce said.
She wants to urge others to be cautious around the animal.
“My main goal is to spread awareness. I don’t want people to go out and kill otters. That’s not what this is about. It’s about trying to be more prepared in nature,” Royce said. “Not to let your guard down and hopefully, if someone learns something from my story. I feel like that’s why I’m still here.”
Medtronic’s latest Deep Brain Stimulation device allows Bruce Lunde to control his tremors remotely, with a cell phone, and that’s not all.
MERRIFIELD, Minn. — Bruce Lunde has never let his age stop him from staying active, so when Parkinson’s Disease threatened to slow him down at the age of 81, he decided to take action.
Lunde recently underwent surgery in order to become the first patient in the upper Midwest to receive Medtronic’s latest Deep Brain Stimulation device.
“Within seconds my tremor was gone,” Lunde said, recalling the moment doctors activated the device, which was implanted via surgery. “It’s amazing what they can do.”
A Very Active Octogenarian
After teaching in Edina for 35 years, Bruce and his wife, Gail Lunde, retired to the woods of central Minnesota, where they remain today.
“I enjoy cutting wood and I enjoy splitting wood,” said Lunde, who relies on a wood-burning stove to heat their home. “I like to have enough on hand to stay a year ahead, so I don’t sit around too much.”
Lunde is also active in his church choir and enjoys running and boxing, so it didn’t take long for his tremors to begin to impact his life.
“The tremor was bothering me more, particularly when I was singing,” he recalled. “I couldn’t hold my sheet music. I tried medication but I felt like my tremor didn’t improve.”
When doctors first diagnosed Bruce with Parkinson’s Disease a few years ago, they told him he might be a good candidate for deep brain stimulation.
“It’s changing the way that the brain networks work, enhancing the pathways that help you move,” said Dr. Robert McGovern, a neurosurgeon at M Health Fairview.
But brain surgery is required in order to make that possible.
“It’s one long kind of wire that gets sent into the brain,” Dr. McGovern said. “We implant two tiny electrodes and calibrate them. They are connected to that wire which then connects to the device.”
Though Brain Stimulation Devices have been around for many years, Dr. McGovern says early batteries often didn’t last beyond just 2-3 years and required additional surgeries to replace.
When Medtronic began introducing wireless charging capabilities in recent years, it was a game changer for many patients, including Bruce.
“It’s charging right now and I just sit like this,” Bruce said, showing off the charging pad draped over his shoulder that indicated that it was connected to the DBS device implanted in the upper part of his chest.
“I wasn’t interested in undergoing multiple surgeries,” he said. “This battery is expected to last more than 10 years.”
In addition to the wireless charging, Bruce can also calibrate his own device with nothing more than a few taps on a cell phone. That means he can consult his doctors from his home and dial in his treatment around his lifestyle.
“The tremor isn’t 100% gone,” he said. “But what a blessing it has been. I feel normal again.”
Dr. McGovern said the most exciting aspect of the device may be yet to come. It features Medtronic’s new BrainSense Technology.
Dr. McGovern: “One of the cool things about it is it actually records the brain signals on the device to individualize the therapy.”
Kent Erdahl: “So, in a sense, the device is getting smarter?”
Dr. McGovern: “Yeah. One, we can learn more about what’s happening in the brain throughout the course of the disease. Two, we know that it works already, but this is potentially a way to make it a lot better.”
Despite all of that promise, Dr. McGovern said he is grateful for Bruce’s courage to embrace the new technology at his age, something even Gail struggled with initially.
“It’s something I have a hard time thinking about,” Gail said, recalling the first time she learned about the surgery. “I didn’t want it to be done, but Bruce was ready for it. So we did it.”
They are both grateful they did.
“I don’t worry too much about it,” Bruce said. “I feel confident that I’m going to be able to function for a long time.”
“The memories are intense,” Beth Eilers, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 14, said.
APPLE VALLEY, Minn. — It’s been nearly seven months since two Burnsville police officers and a firefighter/paramedic were killed in the line of duty. Since then, grief has been hard to overcome for many in the departments.
“The memories are intense,” Beth Eilers, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 14, said. “It will stick with them forever, it just get’s lighter, gets a little bit further back.”
Eilers says a potential source of closure will come as the names of those three – Adam Finseth, Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge – are enshrined on national memorials in Washington, DC, next year. Getting there is expensive, though.
That’s why hundreds came to Bogart’s in Apple Valley Thursday for a fundraiser to get those departments there next year.
“This is dedicated to getting the whole force to Washington, DC, for the dedication,” Chris Loth, co-owner of Bogarts Entertainment Center, said. “It’s a way to honor those who risk their lives to take care of us, to keep us safe.”
Money raised from tickets to get in for a show by Good for Gary, along with a silent auction, will all go towards that goal. Amy and Tom Strese came from Farmington to show their support.
“Super important that they can honor their brothers that we lost,” Amy said.
“You can’t take back that engraving,” Tom added. “So when it gets engraved, and everybody can view it, that solidifies their sacrifice.”
While hearts were heavy inside Bogart’s Thursday night, Eilers knows that money will help.
“It’s a sad night that has a good ending,” she said.
Loth says they’d like to hold more events like this in the future.
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