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MN Court of Appeals overturns Ramsey County judge’s gag order
The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed Ramsey County Judge Joy Bartscher’s unconstitutional gag order issued in a high-profile double murder case.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Court of Appeals has, on Constitutional grounds, overturned Ramsey County Judge Joy Bartscher’s ruling that barred KARE 11 from reporting on a key court memo that describes mental health treatment failures before a high-profile double murder.
The memo reveals that before he murdered two innocent men in a psychotic rage, Joseph Sandoval’s treatment providers knew he had relapsed – and was experiencing “hallucinations and delusional thoughts” – yet failed to revoke his provisional discharge from a locked state psychiatric treatment program.
“It would be a mischaracterization to say Mr. Sandoval was alone in responsibility for this loss of life,” his defense attorney wrote.
Sandoval was provisionally discharged from the locked treatment facility due to “staff shortages,” according to medical records cited in the Sentencing Memorandum filed by defense attorney Baylea Kannmacher.
Before the murders occurred in an unsupervised sober home, Kannmacher said Sandoval’s treatment providers knew he was “non-compliant with his anti-psychotic medications,” was using illegal drugs again, and that “psychiatric intervention at a higher level” had been recommended.
Despite repeated red flags, Sandoval’s provisional discharge was not revoked. His lawyer argued the murders were triggered because “his paranoia was fueled by his unmedicated mental illness and substance abuse.”
After the murders, Sandoval told police he heard voices from the TV saying they were going to kill him, according to the criminal charges.
Evergreen Recovery’s role
Despite his well-documented history of violence and court orders that the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services hold him “safe and secure,” records show Sandoval was released and sent to an outpatient treatment program at Evergreen Recovery in St. Paul.
The FBI recently raided Evergreen Recovery – and a federal judge froze its assets – amid allegations the company was billing for addiction recovery services not provided.
The government raid came in the wake of KARE 11’s multi-part “Recovery Inc.” investigation which exposed Evergreen owners David Backus and Shawn Grygo living a lavish lifestyle – with expensive cars and travel on private jets – as their company billed tens of millions to taxpayer-funded Medicaid for services clients and employees said were not always provided as claimed.
In requesting a permanent injunction against Evergreen, the U.S. Attorney’s office detailed what it called a “scheme to defraud” by billing Medicaid for substance abuse treatment services that were not provided. According to the filing, investigators estimate that “between 30 to 40 percent” of the hours Evergreen billed for group counseling “are falsified.”
Government investigators estimated the “fraudulent conspiracy” totals “at least $28 million.”
At a hearing last week, Evergreen’s owners denied the allegations of wrongdoing.
‘Gag Order’ reversed
Joseph Sandoval’s defense attorney filed the memo detailing treatment failures on July 16, arguing in favor of a reduced sentence on the murder charges.
KARE 11 found the memo on the court’s public website and planned to report about the failures when Sandoval was sentenced last month.
But Ramsey County Judge Joy Bartscher issued a ‘gag order’ order on July 19, barring KARE 11 from reporting details of the memo and ordering copies be destroyed because she believed it had been filed publicly in error, and contained personal medical information about Sandoval.
KARE 11 delayed its report while the station’s attorneys quickly challenged Judge Bartscher’s order as an unconstitutional prior restraint.
“In this country, prior restraints on the press are presumed to be unconstitutional,” said Jane Kirtley, a media ethics and law professor at the University of Minnesota.
In its petition to the Appeals Court, KARE 11 argued that “the Supreme Court of the United States has never held a prior restraint constitutional …”
Meth, Oxy and Opiates
In the memo, his attorney revealed Sandoval repeatedly failed drug tests at Evergreen Recovery.
Prior to the murders – which happened at an Evergreen-affiliated sober home – the memo lists 20 different dates when Sandoval failed drug tests. It says the tests included positives for meth, oxycontin and opiates.
In addition, the memo says Evergreen treatment notes indicate Sandoval “often missed” other drug tests as well as scheduled treatment sessions.
Sandoval’s attorney also raised questions about whether some Evergreen treatment records were falsified. The memo says many notes used “wrong pronouns,” “appear to be copied and pasted” and were signed “days after the date of service listed.”
The memo concludes: “Evergreen Recovery Center was not, and did not, meet the needs of Mr. Sandoval.”
Sandoval’s history of violence
KARE 11’s GAP investigation exposed how Sandoval had a known history of severe mental illness, drug-induced psychosis, and violence – and yet was released without adequate treatment or supervision.
In one case he stole a taxicab, led police on a wild chase and slammed into a pedestrian not once – but twice.
Video from a police helicopter following the chase shows the cab backing up, then ramming into Dylan Swisher a second time.
“You think he was trying to kill you?” KARE 11 asked Swisher.
“Yes, I don’t know how you can come to any other conclusion,” Swisher replied. “He just drives at me. I’m a dude on the ground and he drives directly for me.”
Court records show Sandoval told police he intentionally ran over the man because he believed he was “messing with his sister.” Swisher said he doesn’t even know who Sandoval’s sister is.
Months before he stole the taxi, Sandoval had broken into Bryan Plunger’s North Minneapolis home, smashing through the door and windows with his bare hands.
Sandoval was muttering incoherently and was covered in blood. Plunger said he could tell the man was severely mentally ill. Video shows Sandoval’s blood smeared on the walls and sprayed across the floor and furniture.
“My immediate impression was ‘Whoa, this guy needs some help,’” Plunger told KARE 11.
Sandoval told police that he smoked meth before breaking into the home and was hallucinating, according to court records.
Police took Sandoval to Hennepin County Medical Center, but he wasn’t charged at that time.
Again back on the streets, Sandoval was accused of attacking people with a knife and taken to the county jail, where he was accused in an unprovoked beating of another inmate.
After stealing the taxi, Sandoval was arrested and charged with the earlier North Minneapolis break-in, the inmate assault, and for running over Swisher in the stolen cab.
Incompetent to stand trial
Sandoval was found too mentally ill to stand trial. That would pave the way for another release back to the streets.
A court-appointed examiner found that Sandoval suffered from paranoid delusional thinking and lacked the capacity to recognize reality and reason.
A judge found that because of Sandoval’s mental illness he “engages in grossly disturbed behavior” and “poses a substantial likelihood of causing physical harm.”
Sandoval was committed to the care of the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services, which sent him to the state-run Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center. He stayed less than 30 days before being transitioned to CARE Anoka, another locked inpatient facility for people who are chemically dependent and have a co-occurring mental illness.
The memo filed by his attorney reveals Sandoval was discharged to Evergreen Recovery’s outpatient program due to “staff shortages” at the locked CARE facility. At Evergreen, she says he relapsed while not getting the treatment he actually needed.
KARE 11’s investigation “The GAP: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect,” documented a series of similar cases in which defendants found incompetent to stand trial were released without proper care and oversight and went on to commit more serious crimes. The reports prompted Minnesota to pass sweeping reforms – but too late to save the men Sandoval murdered.
Those victims were 40-year-old Jason Murphy and 56-year-old Jon Wentz. Wentz was an Army Veteran and grandfather of three, finally clean and ready to restart his life. Murphy, the father of a teenage daughter, was a handyman making repairs at the sober house.
In the sentencing memo KARE 11 is now free to report on, Sandoval’s attorney wrote, “The systems put in place to care for Mr. Sandoval failed. These same systems failed Jason (Murphy), and Jon (Wentz), and their families as well.”
If you have a tip you think should be investigated, email us at – investigations@kare11.com
Kare11
Pumpkin display hopes to raise money for food shelf
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Kare11
Search continues for Bemidji missing person
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
Kare11
Asian-American voter turnout projected to rise despite barriers
The organizations say many Asian Americans are planning to vote despite lack of candidate outreach.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Most people have been contacted in some way shape or form by a campaign in the last few weeks. And if the polls are right and the race for president is a dead heat, every vote will matter.
That’s why this is a head scratcher:
According to a September 2024 voter survey by Asian American Pacific Islander Data, 27% of Asian-American voters said they hadn’t been contacted by either political party trying to get their vote. Last spring, earlier in the voting season, it was even more – 42%.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial or ethnic group nationwide.
Their voter participation levels are growing too, with 60% of eligible Asian-American voters turning out in 2020. And AAPI Data reports as many as 90% of Asian Americans they surveyed said they plan to vote this cycle.
“Candidates are not reaching out to Asian Americans, which is a huge mistake,” said ThaoMee Xiong, executive and networking director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders.
She says even though there are more than 200,000 eligible Asian voters in Minnesota, the Asian vote is under-appreciated.
“Neither the Democratic or Republican parties have been reaching out in huge numbers,” Xiong said. “They’re sending general mailers to everyone but … they need it in their native language.”
That’s why CAAL is partnering with two more organizations to keep voter turnout high and reach anyone candidates or advocates missed.
Xor Xiong is from Asian American Organizing Project, which focuses on engaging metro-area teens and young adults.
“Many of our communities are still facing barriers to go to vote,” he said. “There’s been more times than I like to admit in terms of when I was having a conversation over the phones of voters being surprised that they can take time off to go and vote, or they can bring the kids to the polling locations, or they can even bring someone to translate for them.”
“In Ramsey County, because of the large Hmong American population there, the polls in Ramsey County are federally required to provide interpreters and translated materials,” ThaoMee added.
Their nonpartisan campaign, Get Out the Vote for Asian Minnesotans, aims to get people registered and well-informed.
“Throughout Covid, there was a lot of anti-hate around the AAPI community and we are still feeling the impact of that to this day,” said Amanda Xiong, a community organizer with a group known as CAPI USA. “Even if folks are afraid to go to the polls, due to that, we try our best to then educate them around absentee ballots, voting early.”
“And so yes, there is a huge increase in terms of voter turnout, but then why is it still 70% feel as though they don’t belong?”
In 2021, the FBI reported a 168% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.
In Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, the groups knocked on at least 700 doors in one session alone while keeping safety top of mind.
“We make sure that there’s a car following all the door knockers,” ThaoMee said. “We put everyone on text chain … and we are putting a lot of precautionary measures in place for the day of voting.”
After the election, the CAAL plans to conduct surveys and send the results to county election officials. They’ve done this before and say it led to policy changes this year at the legislature including measures to ensure people have easier access to interpreters.