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4 teens charged in connection with armed robberies in Minneapolis
Two teens were charged with fleeing police Monday in a stolen vehicle linked to several robberies while two other juveniles are charged in another armed robbery.
MINNEAPOLIS — Four juveniles were charged by petition Wednesday in connection with separate incidents connected to a recent surge in armed robberies in the city of Minneapolis.
Two of the defendants, both 16 years old, are being charged in connection with a high-speed pursuit Monday that ended in a crash. Prosecutors say the teens were in a Kia Sportage linked by witnesses to a string of robberies that took place in the city the previous weekend.
A criminal complaint filed against the juveniles says around 1 p.m. Monday police spotted the vehicle driving eastbound on Lowry Ave. N and say the driver was wearing a facemask and a hood tied up around his head. A plate reader in the officer’s squad revealed that the Kia had been stolen from a church parking lot one day earlier. The officer activated his lights and began pursuit of the Kia.
Prosecutors say the pursuit wound through the north side of Minneapolis for approximately seven minutes until the driver hit a parked pickup, lost control and crashed into a bus stop. One of the 16-year-olds was caught by an officer, and another was apprehended by a police K-9.
A gun was found discarded at the scene.
Pictures of the Kia show that the steering column was completely torn apart. The suspects are charged with theft of a motor vehicle and fleeing police both in a vehicle and on foot.
The second set of charges involves two 17-year-olds who were detained following an armed robbery early Wednesday. A juvenile petition says officers were called to the 4100 block of Aldrich Ave. N by a person who said he was robbed after meeting with a group of individuals who contacted him through Facebook Marketplace to buy a dog.
Police say the victim told officers five men robbed him at gunpoint, taking $6,000 and his ID before fleeing in a gold Cadillac. The man shared the license plate of the getaway vehicle.
Officers located the Cadillac within minutes and followed the vehicle until it stopped on Camden Ave. N and three suspects jumped out and fled. Police were able to detain the driver, and soon located one of the suspects who fled at a nearby gas station. He was reportedly carrying a large amount of money and wearing just one shoe.
Prosecutors say the matching shoe was located in the Cadillac, along with a Glock pistol with an extended magazine that was equipped with a switch, making it fully automatic. Another 9mm handgun was found just outside the passenger door of the getaway vehicle.
The robbery victim was able to identify both juveniles as being involved in the robbery.
Minneapolis investigators are looking into the possibility that all four suspects might be connected to the weekend robbery spree.
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The legislation prevents transferring a dead patient’s medical debt to a surviving spouse and reporting unpaid medical bills to creditors, among other things.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The Debt Fairness Act is officially the law of the land across Minnesota, going into effect on Oct. 1, 2024.
Passed in April as part of the larger Commerce Policy Bill, the act takes a number of steps to protect those struggling under the weight of medical debt. Among other things, the Debt Fairness Act:
- Prevents medical providers from denying care due to unpaid medical debt
- Bans the practice of transferring a dead patient’s medical debt to a surviving spouse
- Prohibits medical providers from reporting unpaid medical bills to credit bureaus
- Establishes strong new protections from unethical medical debt collection practices
- Requires medical providers to publish medical debt collection practices
- Creates a new process to help people dispute medical coding and billing errors
The bill received strong support at Capitol rallies from Minnesotans like Jen Schultz, a public relations professional and adjunct professor at Concordia University in St. Paul.
“I’m a four-time cancer survivor and a lot of times it feels like I’m in a constant cycle of medical debt,” Schultz told KARE. “I’ve had so many situations where I’ve had to choose between buying groceries or paying a full medical bill or putting gas in my car.”
Schultz said bills tend to pile up for cancer survivors like her due to the constant need to check and recheck to ensure the disease has not returned.
“Oncology appointments, scans, ultrasounds, biopsies, medication, treatment, and so on,” Schultz explained.
Credit agencies and hospital groups lobbied hard against the bill before its passage, cautioning lawmakers about the unintended consequences of changing the rules. Danny Ackert of the Minnesota Hospital Association said hospitals wrote off $537 million in uncollectible debt in 2022, and $280 million of that was from patients with insurance who couldn’t afford their copays and deductibles.
“The hospital association is concerned that provisions in Senate File 4065 pertain to medical debt in combination are not appropriately balanced,” Ackert told the panel at the time.
On Tuesday Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that his office will host a new Debt Fairness Legal Clinic on Saturday, October 5 at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center. Experts will be on hand to provide support and advice to Minnesotans struggling under the weight of medical debt.
HOPE 4 Youth offers programs and support for young people experiencing homelessness.
COON RAPIDS, Minn. — On any given night, about 6,000 young people in Minnesota are experiencing homelessness. HOPE 4 Youth is raising awareness and funds to make sure that number goes down.
The Darkest Night 4K is raising funds to help that cause. Participants will take part in a luminary-lit walk or run with live music and activities at the Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids on Oct. 4 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
If you attend, you might see a familiar face as KARE 11 Sunrise anchor Jason Hackett will be emceeing the event.
Nikki Kalvin, the director of advancement with HOPE 4 Youth, visited KARE 11 News at Noon to share more about the event and the organization’s mission.
HOPE 4 Youth offers housing programs and support for people ages 16-24 who are dealing with homelessness. The proceeds from The Darkest Night 4K will go to their programs.
Tickets are $40 for adults, $20 for kids or students and free for children ages 3 and under. Click here for more information.
The St. Paul Area Association of Realtors aims to get first-time home buyers in action.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Owning a home can seem like an unattainable goal as prices are getting more and more expensive.
The St. Paul Area Association of Realtors (SPAAR) wants to help first-time home buyers reach this goal. At the Housing Resource Fair, people can meet with realtors, local housing organizations and city officials to learn about programs and money-saving resources.
The fair will be held Oct. 3 from 2-4 p.m. at the SPAAR offices at 325 Roselawn Ave. E in St. Paul.
For more information, click this link.
