Star Tribune
Maplewood man used ‘date rape’ drug to assault woman
Ramsey County prosecutors have charged a Maplewood man with sexual assault, alleging he drugged and raped a woman, leaving her unconscious before she was eventually hospitalized.
Kyle Kamp, 38, was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct for assaulting the 22-year-old woman in St. Paul last November. He’s been ordered to have no contact with her.
Court documents say Kamp was released from jail after his $80,000 bail was posted Thursday. His first hearing is scheduled for April 4.
According to charging documents, St. Paul Police responded Nov. 15 to the 2000 block of Hadley Street on November 15 after the alleged victim’s mother said her daughter did not come home or answer her phone. Officers found her unconscious in Kamp’s living room. Kamp was nearby, telling medics that she took 30 shots of alcohol the previous night before she fell unconscious at 2 a.m.
The woman was taken to the hospital where staff reported she was “critically ill.” They intubated her and put her on a ventilator before her health improved. She awoke the next day.
The woman told a physician and nurse examiner that she spent time with Kamp last January and February, but did not speak to him again for eight months. He picked her up that night at around 9 p.m. and they drank shots of alcohol at several locations before going to Kamp’s house. She felt uncomfortable when they arrived, warning her sister to watch her GPS location. She asked Kamp for a ride home, but said he didn’t care and responded, “you want to leave me already?” She tried to order a Lyft home but could not find any drivers. At some point they had two shots of alcohol, but she said she did not see Kamp pour the last drink.
She texted her sister minutes after taking that drink, suggesting that Kamp wanted sex but it would not happen. She lost all memory of what happened after that.
Testing revealed the woman’s blood contained less than .01 percent of alcohol. Further testing found sperm and evidence of GHB, a commonly known date rape drug that causes blackouts, memory loss and respiratory arrest. She denied agreeing to any sexual activity with Kamp that night.
Kamp told responding officers that he and the woman had 30 shots of tequila that night before having sex and passing out. He claims she was in his bathroom throwing up by around 2:30 p.m. the next day, adding that he found her unconscious after getting out the shower. Kamp agreed to an interview with police at first, but cancelled after retaining a lawyer.
Star Tribune
Sentencing set for Monday morning for a Minnesota man who was drunk and speeding when he hit a woman’s SUV and killed her.
A man with a history of driving drunk received a four-year term Monday for being intoxicated and speeding when he hit a woman’s SUV on a southern Minnesota highway and killed her.
John R. Deleo, 54, of Lake Crystal, Minn., was sentenced in Brown County District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash on Aug. 17, 2023, in New Ulm at Hwy. 68 and S. 15th Street that killed 82-year-old Sharon A. Portner, of New Ulm.
With credit for the two days he was in jail after his arrest, Deleo is expected to serve the first 2⅔ years years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.
A week ahead of sentencing, defense attorney James Kuettner asked the court to spare his client prison and put him on probation for up to five years.
Kuettner pointed out in his filing that Deleo stayed at the crash scene and attempted “to aid Portner, and he left [her] side only when directed to by law enforcement.”
The attorney also noted that Deleo has been sober since the crash, and therefore, at a particularly low risk for reoffending.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police arrived to find the two damaged vehicles near 15th and S. Broadway streets. Emergency responders took Portner to New Ulm Medical Center, where she died that day.
ROCHESTER – The defense for Shane Roper, the former state trooper charged for his role in a crash that killed Owatonna teenager Olivia Flores, has asked the court to dismiss eight of the nine charges against him.
In a motion filed Oct. 24, Roper’s attorneys said the state has “failed to meet its burden of offering direct evidence tending to demonstrate that [Roper’s] actions, or negligence, were the proximate cause of death or bodily harm.”
Roper, 32, faces nine criminal charges related to the May 18 crash, including felony charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide. Both charges carry maximum sentences of 10 years in jail.
The only charge the defense did not ask to have dismissed is a misdemeanor for careless driving, which carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail.
Among the other requests made to the court, Roper’s defense asked for a change of venue outside of Olmsted County, citing the extensive media coverage of the case. The defense said “jury pools have surely been tainted and a fair trial cannot be had” in the county.
Roper’s attorney, Eric Nelson of Halberg Criminal Defense, also argued that any evidence related to Roper’s prior speeding or traffic incidents should be precluded as evidence in the case.
In the five years leading up to the crash, Roper had been disciplined by the State Patrol on four separate occasions for careless or reckless driving, including a February 2019 crash that injured another officer.
District Judge Christa Daily has not responded to the motions. Roper is scheduled to be back in court Nov. 21 for a pretrial settlement conference.
Star Tribune
Who is comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who insulted Puerto Rico at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally?
NEW YORK — Of the nearly 30 speakers who recently warmed up the crowd for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe got the most attention for racist remarks.
”I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said, later including lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jewish and Black people.
The comments have led to condemnation from Democrats and Puerto Rican celebrities, with Ricky Martin sharing a clip of Hinchcliffe’s set, captioned: “This is what they think of us.”
The Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. ”This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.
Here’s what to know about Hinchcliffe, his comedic styling and the response to his Madision Square Garden comments.
Hinchcliffe, raised in Youngstown, Ohio, is a stand-up comedian who specializes in the roast style, in which comedians take the podium to needle a celebrity victim with personal and often tasteless jokes. He has written and appeared on eight Comedy Central Roasts, including ones for Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady.
Even fellow comedians aren’t immune. At the Snoop Dogg roast, Hichcliffe made a joke referencing comedian Luenell, who is Black, being on the Underground Railroad. Of the honoree, he said: ”Snoop, you look like the California Raisin that got hooked on heroin.”
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