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Duluth man pleads guilty to criminal sexual conduct with girls

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DULUTH – With freshly selected jurors waiting nearby for the start of an expected days-long trial, a Duluth man facing criminal sexual conduct charges took a last-minute plea deal instead of facing the women he abused when they were children.

Clint Franklin Massie, 49, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning at the St. Louis County Courthouse to the four counts from incidents dating back to 2008-09 when two of his victims were young girls. The deal dismissed one of the counts against him. His sentencing is scheduled for March 20, and he could end up with more than nine years in prison. Massie, who was initially charged in February 2023 and has been out on $300,000 bail, was released until his sentencing.

In each case, the victim was known to Massie — whether they were related or through their shared membership at Old Apostolic Lutheran Church. He was friends with their parents and regarded as a fun, child-free uncle, according to reports from the investigation.

Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Michael Ryan told the court that the victims were satisfied with the deal.

“They have been involved in talking this through,” he said to Judge Dale Harris.

After Massie pleaded guilty, would-be witnesses and their supporters filed into the courtroom filling rows. Massie, dressed in a dark suit coat and khaki pants, turned to look. Ryan questioned him on the victims’ accusations — four specific scenarios where he had touched girls: during a sleepover at his house, when alone on a tractor, or beneath a blanket while others were in the room.

Massie said in court there were a lot of big gatherings and shared meals within this the group. It wasn’t unusual for one of the many children to sit on his lap.

At times Massie paused and said he couldn’t remember exact details or motives. At other times he deferred to what he told investigating officers last year. In each instance he ultimately agreed with the scenario presented by the prosecution.



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Fake bomb threat targets Maple Grove homes of slain UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

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One day after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot to death on a Manhattan street, two homes owned by his family close to each other in Maple Grove were the targets of a bomb threat that police said they quickly determined was an act of “swatting.”

Police said they received a report of the threat around 7 p.m. supposedly targeting the residences that are about a half-mile apart.

One home is owned by Thompson and the other by his wife, Pauette Thompson, according to Hennepin County property records.

“No devices or suspicious items were located during the investigation,” a statement from police read in connection with what it classified as a case of suspected swatting. ”The case is considered an active investigation, while the incident appears to be a hoax.”

Swatting is an act of falsely reporting an emergency with the intent of sending police to someone’s home.

Public officials across the country have been targeted in swatting incidents, as have judges overseeing cases against former President Donald Trump. In January, someone tried to draw police and a hostage negotiator to the Delano home of Minnesota Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer by claiming a murder had taken place there.

Maple Grove police said it was assisted in its investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department bomb squad and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

In New York on Thursday, police released a photo showing the face of a “person of interest” in the fatal ambush the executive as he walked to a hotel where an investors conference was scheduled that day.



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Mankato teen sentenced to 15 years for another teen’s shooting death

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A Mankato teen was sentenced this week to at least 15 years in prison for the murder for another teenager in February.

Emmanuel Lavelle Isaac, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with intent but not premeditation. He will get credit for having served nearly a year in jail.

Police were called to downtown Mankato on Feb. 15 after reports that someone had been shot. They found the victim, Marcus Romaine Cargill Jr., 19, laying on the ground with gunshot wounds to his upper body.

A witness told police that Cargill and Isaac had an ongoing dispute that included bickering over social media, a criminal complaint said. In his guilty plea, Isaac said the pair had had a physical altercation the previous Halloween.

Cargill went to Isaac’s house after school, according to court documents. Isaac was in the front passenger seat of a black Mazda in the driveway of his house when he saw Cargill approach him, yelling.

In his guilty plea, Isaac said that as a friend backed the car out of the driveway, he reached out of the window and shot Cargill, striking him five times. Police said they found a black CZ 9mm pistol used for the murder.

As part of his plea, Isaac said he had not seen a weapon in Cargill’s hands. The plea also states that Isaac no longer says that he acted in self-defense.

Isaac’s sentence totals 282 months, of which a third can be supervised released.



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MN Attorney General Ellison sues former charter school superintendent

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The suit filed Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court called Christianna M. Hang’s actions “reckless” and “illegal” and seeks repayment of the money, civil penalties and a court order to guard against similar actions in the future.

Hang, founder of Hmong College Prep Academy (HCPA), was its superintendent when in 2019 she allegedly violated state law by wiring $5 million to Woodstock Capital Partners without getting approval from the school’s board of directors and going against advice from the school’s attorney and accountants. Minnesota law also prohibits charter schools from investing with hedge funds, the lawsuit said.

“I am frankly stunned by the recklessness HCPA’s former superintendent displayed when she took millions of dollars meant to educate children and instead wired them into some obscure hedge fund,” Ellison said in a statement announcing the legal action. “This illegal use of HCPA’s resources and subsequent loss of over $4 million is an astonishing disservice to students and their families, teachers and administrators, and Minnesota taxpayers. Today, I am suing to recover these funds, protect the educations of young Minnesotans attending HCPA, and hold Ms. Hang accountable.”

The Star Tribune left a message at HCPA seeking comment and has attempted to reach Hang.

Hang also made the investment “without any meaningful degree of research into the hedge fund or its principals,” which resulted in the money-losing venture, the suit said. She resigned in 2021 after details about the investment became public and HCPA was sharply criticized in a report by the Office of the Minnesota State Auditor.

That sparked an investigation by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.

HCPA is a charter school that opened in 2004 and is located just south of the State Fairgrounds. The school serves about 2,400 students in kindergarten through grade 12. Most of its funding comes from the state, the suit said.



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