July 6

At 11:45 a.m., a 2012 Chevrolet Captiva, driven by James

I. Schultz, 68, Reedsburg, struck a deer on Highway 35 northbound just south of Quarry Road. Schultz, who was wearing a seat belt, reported no injuries. The vehicle was towed due to disabling damage.

At 8:31 p.m., police responded to 798 Peregrine Circle #11 for a domestic disturbance. An anonymous complainant said a man and woman were yelling and things were being thrown.

Joshua James Thacker, 36, River Falls, was arrested on suspicion of physical abuse of a child – intentionally cause harm (three counts). He was taken to Pierce County Jail.

July 7

At 10:05 p.m., police responded to North Main Street and Mound View Road for a car vs. pedestrian crash. A 2007 Toyota Yaris, driven by Kathryn Stuart-Ginsberg, 72, River Falls, was traveling south on North Main Street approaching the intersection when it struck pedestrian David A. Merten, 51, River Falls, who was crossing the road from east to west. Stuart-Ginsberg said she was traveling normal speed and did not see Merten until he was directly in front of her, at which she time she “slammed on her brakes.” Two witnesses traveling behind Stuart-Ginsberg said Merten was not in a crosswalk and did not look before entering the roadway. When police arrived, Merten was lying in the southbound lane of traffic. He kept trying to move and told police he fell. Police could smell an odor of intoxicants coming from Merten. An ambulance transported Merten to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with suspected serious injuries. Stuart-Ginsberg’s vehicle was towed to the police department impound lot. She reported no injuries.

July 8

At 3:53 a.m., police went to 2750 Meadows Drive for a report of an unconscious woman who was not breathing. The woman’s daughter found her laying on the bathroom floor unconscious with her back against the wall. She was not breathing and was cold. She started CPR before police arrived. EMS arrived at 4 a.m. and worked on the woman until 4:30 a.m., at which time she was pronounced deceased. Her family said she had a history of kidney issues. Her body was taken to Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office.

At 9:40 p.m., police responded to a possible domestic in progress at 237 Broadway St. Police spoke to a couple in an apartment, who said they were just having a verbal disagreement. They agreed to keep the noise down.

July 9

At 6 a.m., Blake Edward Deal, 40, River Falls, was arrested at 539 S. Wasson Lane for a probation hold. He was taken to St. Croix County Jail without incident.

July 10

At 6:49 p.m., police responded to 1047 E. Cascade Ave. where a juvenile had been physically fighting with their mother before taking off on foot. The juvenile allegedly pushed the mother into the stove, pinched her and kicked her while swearing. The juvenile was located. Battery and disorderly conduct charges were referred to juvenile services.

July 12

At 9:54 a.m., a 2011 Ford Mustang, driven by Julie A. Carlson, 50, Hager City, struck a deer on Highway 65 northbound. Carlson, who wore a seat belt, reported no injuries. The vehicle was towed due to disabling damage.

At 10:20 a.m., police responded to a two-vehicle collision between a 2016 Frht Freightliner straight truck, driven by Dennis William Curry, 60, Elk Mound, and a legally parked 2018 Frht M2 truck tractor, occupied by Steven Michael Sloat, 44, Alma, at Kennedy and South Sixth streets. Curry was going around Sloat’s parked vehicle, when he sideswiped it. Curry’s truck had functional damage, while Sloat’s had minor damage. Neither man reported injuries.

At 12:32 p.m., the owner of Dairy Queen (located at 421 S. Main St.) reported an exterior sign on the building as stolen. The sign, approximately 6-by-3.5 feet was a DQ sign with a photo of an Oreo. The frame in which it was placed was not damaged. The owner estimated the sign’s value at $250. It was taken sometime between 10 p.m. July 11 and 8:30 a.m. July 12. There are no suspects.

At 7:42 p.m., police responded to 114 S. Falls St. for a report of a missing vehicle. The resident reported that an exboyfriend, who used to have permission to drive the vehicle, had taken it to St. Paul without her permission sometime between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The police gave her options to pursue, since it appeared to be a civil matter. The vehicle was returned around 9:13 p.m.

At 10:51 p.m. officers were sent to the parking lot at Family Fresh (303 S. Main St.) for a vehicle with a slashed front passenger side tire. The damage appeared to be two puncture marks and a gash in the sidewall. The driver said she noticed the tire making an odd sound while driving home from work, so she pulled into the parking lot to look. No suspects were identified.

July 13

At 8:05 a.m., police were notified of a two-vehicle crash that had occurred at 9 p.m. July 12 between a 2014 Chevy Equinox, driven by Samuel Scott Hopkinson, 29, River Falls, and a legally parked 2007 Chevy Impala, owned by Delfino D. Carrasco, Hammond, in the parking lot of 215 W. Cascade Ave. Hopkinson was backing into a parking stall and bumped into Carrasco’s vehicle. Both vehicles had minor damage. No injuries were reported.

At 9:44 a.m., police responded to a two-vehicle crash between a 2022 Peterbilt Motors Co. 337, driven by Dominic John Bulger, 22, West St. Paul, Minn., and a legally parked 2008 Subaru Outback, owned by Troy Allen Smith, New Richmond, in the Holiday parking lot (302 S. Main St.) Bulger was backing up in the parking lot and struck Smith’s vehicle. The Outback’s bumper came completely off; the vehicle had to be towed due to disabling damage. The Peterbilt had minor damage. No injuries were reported.

At 10:45 a.m., police responded to a two-vehicle crash between a 2015 Dodge Caravan, driven by James W. Thole, 82, River Falls, and a 2007 Frht Chassis van, driven by Jacob Oliver Unseth, 28, St. Paul, on Highway 65 at the north frontage road near Hove Auto Body. Thole said he was driving straight on Highway 65 and observed a Fed Ex truck to his left. He was unsure if the Fed Ex truck was going straight or turning left, but it didn’t appear the truck was stopping. He accelerated and the Fed Ex truck clipped his rear driver’s side quarter panel. Unseth said he was stopped on the frontage road and was going to go straight across the highway. He said he saw a vehicle going north, but Thole’s vehicle was behind that vehicle and he did not see it. Thole and his passenger, Maureen J. Thole, 81, River Falls, wore seat belts and reported no injuries. Their vehicle had minor damage. Unseth also wore a seat belt and reported no injuries. The Fed Ex truck had minor damage. Unseth was cited $98.80 for fail/yield righ/way from stop sign.

At 10:53 a.m., a caller reported damage to a boat at 1171 River Ridge Road. The resident said he bought a boat the night before and parked it in his driveway. At about 9 a.m. July 13, he noticed that someone had taken a knife to the boat canvas and cut it. It had not been damaged at 10 p.m. the night before. Nothing was missing from inside the boat.

At 12:26 p.m., a caller reported damage to his boat at 1947 Greenwood Valley Drive. The boat was parked on the road in front of the residence. It had a cover on it, valued at $1,500, which appeared to have been slashed with a knife. The damage occurred sometime between 6 p.m. July 12 and 7 a.m. July 13. No suspects were identified.

At 12:44 p.m., a caller reported theft from a vehicle at 857 Winter Court. The complainant said she arrived home at 5 p.m. July 12 and parked her vehicle. She left it unlocked. Her Victoria Secret wallet was inside, with a debit card, driver’s license, $50-60 in cash, her Social Security number and gift cards. When she returned at 9 a.m. July 13, she noticed the wallet was missing. She had also received two fraudulent charge alerts, each totaling $59.07. No suspects were identified.

July 14 Montreal Juan Willis, 35, Ellsworth, was arrested and cited for operating without a license (third offense) after a traffic stop for a non-functional driver’s side headlight at 4:50 a.m. on Highway 65 south of Division Street. Willis was booked at RFPD and released.

At 12:01 p.m., police responded to BP Amoco (700 N. Main St.) for a report of juvenile shoplifters. An employee had found open vaporizer packages in an aisle. Upon reviewing security footage, she saw juvenile female at 9:47 a.m. reach over the counter and grab vaporizer cartridges, while a juvenile male appeared to be the lookout. The female went into the bathroom with the cartridges, then they both left the store. The came back into the store and the female again reached over the counter and grabbed more vaporizer items. The male had paid for a water bottle, then they left again. They went southbound on Main Street.

At 2:46 p.m., police received a phone call reporting a dog bite that had occurred at River Falls Golf Club (2120 E. Division St.) An employee there said she had been bitten on her hip by a dog while she was working. She sought medical care at Hudson Hospital. The dog’s owner said the 1-year-old German Shepherd bit the employee when she approached his golf cart. He was given quarantine paperwork.

At 1:23 p.m., police went back to BP Amoco (700 N. Main St.) for an attempted theft by three juveniles. Two of the suspects had stolen items earlier in the day. The three went behind the counter and attempted to steal Juul Pods and devices valued at $68.15. The employee, who told the three to leave, provided video footage to the police.

July 15

At 10:57 a.m., police were called to Emma’s Bar (222 S. Main St.) to check on an intoxicated man who fell asleep at the bar. The bartender said the man had been there for two hours. He didn’t know his name and kept falling asleep while police talked to him. EMS responded for an evaluation. After he was cleared, he was given a courtesy ride to his residence. Misdemeanor bail jumping charges were referred to the St. Croix County District Attorney, since the man violated his absolute sobriety bond condition.

At 12:46 p.m., police were sent to 112 S. Third St. for a found cat. The orange and white male cat had wandered onto the porch and appeared friendly and in good health. The cat was not claimed and was transported to River Buff humane Society.

At 2:37 p.m., officers responded to a two-vehicle crash between at 2011 Ford F150, driven by Eric Jon Amundsen, 51, River Falls, and a 2013 Nissan Maxima, driven by Jeffrey Charles Bennett, 49, River Falls, at the South Second Street and Cascade Avenue roundabout. Amundsen entered the roundabout from Cascade Avenue and Bennett entered it from South Second Street. Amundsen struck Bennett’s vehicle, causing functional damage to the rear and minor damage to his F150. Amundsen said he honked the horn prior to striking the Nissan and said Bennett was going “far too fast and did not yield upon entering the roundabout.” Bennett said the same about Amundsen, who struck him from behind. Neither man reported injuries. Bennett’s passenger, Amanda Kristine Ziebarth, 32, River Falls, also reported no injuries. All wore seat belts.

At 5:24 p.m., officers responded to a vehicle vs. pedestrian hit-and-run crash on South Main Street 38 feet north of Spring Street. A 16-year-old male pedestrian with a bicycle was crossing Main Street, moving east toward Spring Street, when he was struck by an unknown vehicle driving north on Main Street. The pedestrian said the female driver stopped and asked if he was okay, and he said yes; then she drove away. The pedestrian had minor injuries but was not transported to a hospital. The bicycle had functional damage to the front wheel. No witnesses nor cameras observed the crash.

At 6:35 p.m., police responded to Dollar Tree (1174 N. Main St.) where a person allegedly threw a spray bottle at an employee. When police arrived, they recognized a black Ford Explorer, the driver and a juvenile from a prior incident 1.5 weeks earlier. The juvenile told police she was polite in the store and was being harassed by the employee, with whom she allegedly had problems in the past. She said she looked in the bag of items she bought and something was leaking. She asked to exchange it, she said, grabbed a new bottle and refused to have the employee ring it up for the exchange as the employee requested. She admitted to walking out of the store and throwing the spray bottle, which hit the employee. While police were talking with the girl and her mother, they saw items in the vehicle that had been stolen from Puff Puff Glass in a previous case earlier that day at about 4 p.m. Those items totaled about $320. The girl became upset and tried to strike an officer before she was placed in a squad. Permission was obtained to search the vehicle and numerous stolen vaping items from PPG were found, as well as items from the Dollar Tree ($60 worth). The juvenile, age 16, was arrested for two retail theft charges and taken to RFPD. The girl was also cited $73.60 for minor possessing tobacco.

July 16 Kristine Ivy Terlinde, 25, St. Paul, was cited $124 for operate without valid license after a traffic stop for speeding at 12:40 a.m. on North Main Street at Summit Street.

Rachel Claire Medina, 39, River Falls, was cited $86.20 for dog or cat running at large after police were called at 8:18 a.m. to 533 Birch St. for an animal complaint. When police arrived, they saw a large brown and black dog rustling around in the woods, two doors down. The dog had bitten the complainant’s dog under its right front leg, which was bleeding. The complainant had taken her dog for a walk and the dog at 519 Birch St. was off its leash. It bit the complainant’s dog in the street. The complainant said the dog has bitten her dog multiple times.

At 3:24 p.m., police responded to a two-vehicle collision between a 2020 Volkswagen Jetta, driven by David Guy Ebben, 67, River Falls, and a legally parked 2020 Merz Revel motorhome, owned by Melissa S. Aschenbach, San Jose, Calif., at Walgreen’s (1047 N. Main St.). Ebben was backing out of a parking stall and clipped the right rear of the motorhome, which was legally parked in another stall. Ebben left the scene because he was late for picking up someone, but later made contact with police. He said he thought he had enough room when backing up. Both vehicles had minor damage and no injuries were reported.

Issac Bradley Paul Anderson, 26, homeless, was arrested and cited $861 for OWI, $861 for operating with PAC and $187 for hit and run – unattended vehicle after a traffic stop at 6:51 p.m. on East Walnut Street at Fifth Street. A 2012 GMC Acadia, owned by Michaela Grace Kramer, River Falls, was legally parked on Walnut Street at Fourth Street. Anderson’s vehicle, a 2003 Dodge Neon, was parked behind Kramer’s vehicle. While leaving from a parked position, Anderson hit the GMC. He continued down the street for about one block before pulling over due to a flat tire. A third-party witness reported the accident. The Neon had no damage, while the Acadia had minor damage. Anderson’s passenger, James Charles Kelly, 27, River Falls, was cited for possess open intoxicants in motor vehicle – passenger. No injuries were reported. Anderson recorded a .22 blood alcohol content reading.

At 7:55 p.m., officers responded to a two-vehicle crash between a 2019 Ford Flex, driven by Michael James Nicholson, 38, Spring Valley, and a 2011 Dodge Journey, driven by Larry Lynn Larson, 69, River Falls, on South Main Street just north of East Locust Street. Larson was traveling south on Main Street at Locust Street; he stopped/slowed for pedestrians crossing the street. Nicholson, who was also traveling south behind Larson. He said he was trying to watch for the heavy pedestrian traffic and did not see that Larson had stopped, before rear-ending him. Both vehicles reported minor damage. No one, including Nicholson’s passenger Alyssa Rae Nicholson, 34, Spring Valley, reported any injuries. All wore seat belts.

William Alan Manns, 18, River Falls, was cited $187 for an ID card violation at 7:21 p.m. at 1141 S. Main St.

Erin Kathryn Murry, 21, Owatonna, Minn., was cited $187 for possess open intoxicants in motor vehicle – driver after a traffic stop at 8:01 p.m. at highways 35 and 65.

Sterling Dale Stark, 28, Stillwater, Minn., was cited $250 for operating while revoked (alcohol related) after a traffic stop at 10:49 p.m. at South Main and East Locust streets.

At 11:10 p.m., police on foot patrol in the 100 block of East Walnut Street saw a man standing beside a vehicle with his hands near the zipper of his pants with a wet spot next to the driver’s side tire. The man tried to walk past the officer who told him to stop several times. The man was stumbling and intoxicated.

Alexander V. Gigi, 32, River Falls, consented to a PBT, which registered .22. Figi currently has 10 open cases in Pierce County Circuit Court, and is out on signature bond with an absolute sobriety condition. Figi was taken to his residence and a felony bail jumping charge referred.

Cody James Wilson, 19, River Falls, was cited $187 for ID card violations and $187 for underage drinking – possession at 11:44 p.m. at 102 E. Maple St. Police were called to the alleyway for a man passed out next to the caller’s vehicle. Wilson became alert and conscious when police arrived. He was clearly intoxicated. A fake ID was confiscated. Wilson said he had been drinking at Maverick’s Bar; he registered a .129 BAC.

July 17 Kristin Noel Berg, 39, River Falls, was cited $861 for OWI after a traffic stop at 12:25 a.m. at Greenwood Valley Drive and Kamloops Place. Police witnesses Berg exit the parking lot at 319 S. Main St.; she conducted a very wide and slow turn onto Main Street, drove near the center line, then swerved toward the white line. Officers followed her vehicle, which continued to weave across the white fog line. Berg’s eyes were glassy, her speech slurred, and she wore a Budweiser bracelet that had been used at RF Days. She failed field sobriety tests and registered a PBT of .160.

Nathaniel Wray Dodge, 23, River Falls, was cited $124 for open intoxicants in motor vehicle – passenger after a traffic stop at 12:41 a.m. on South Second at East Locust Street. The vehicle was stopped for driving with no headlights or tail lights.