Police Department Reports

Posted 6/14/22

RIVER FALLS Police Department Reports The following incidents were reported to River Falls Police Department May 19 through June 7. Thursday, May 19 Police responded at 7:43 a.m. to Kwik Trip (1238 …

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Police Department Reports

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RIVER FALLS Police Department Reports

The following incidents were reported to River Falls Police Department May 19 through June 7.

Thursday, May 19

Police responded at 7:43 a.m. to Kwik Trip (1238 N.Main St.) to a physical fight between a man and woman.

Both people left before police arrived. Video surveillance shows both parties arriving in separate vehicles. It doesn’t appear that they know each other. While in the fountain drink area, it appears the man is hovering around the woman, but it’s unclear what is said between the two. The woman says something, the man approaches her and she throws a drink in his face. She then punches him in the face. Employees separated them and they left in opposite directions. The video did not show their license plates.

At 8:35 a.m. May 20, a man reported that someone had stolen his $700 Honda push lawnmower (red and gray in color) from one of his rental’s driveways at 221 S. Fourth St. sometime between 9 and 10:47 p.m. May 19.

In a separate call, at 11:09 p.m. May 19, the resident at 225 S.Fourth St. reported that a gray Ford SUV had driven past his house and thrown toilet paper on his truck and grill. Two women were in the vehicle and returned a short time later to yell at the resident. He believed one of them was his ex-girlfriend, who denied having anything to do with the incident. The same complainant saw someone in a straight pipe blue truck stop and pick up the lawnmower at the next house; he believed it was being stolen and reported it to his landlord, who went to the police station the next day.

Thursday, May 26

Jami Ann Morrow, 20, River Falls, was cited $250 for failure to stop for an unloading school bus at 4:06 p.m. at Cemetery Road and Emory Circle. RF Bus Garage reported the incident and provided video at 10:09 a.m. June 3. Morrow said she didn’t recall passing a school bus with its stop arm down.

Tuesday, May 31

Officers were called at 9:47 a.m. to Positive Alternatives (2860 Williams Ave.) for a fight in progress between two juveniles. One juvenile went to urgent care for a sprained finger, the other for a concussion. They were punching, biting and kicking each other.

Battery and disorderly conduct charges were referred for both juveniles.

Police responded to a two-vehicle crash at 12:15 p.m. at Main Street and the Kwik Trip (1238 N. Main St.) driveway between a 2003 Mini Cooper, driven by Grace D. Berends, 21, Saint Charles, Minn., and a 2013 Honda Civic, driven by James Curtis Jon Niswonger, 20, Oconto. Berends was attempting to exit Kwik Trip’s west entrance to head south on Main Street. She said she didn’t see Niswonger’s vehicle and pulled into its path; Niswonger was heading north on Main Street. Berends struck Niswonger’s passenger side doors with her front bumper. The Mini Cooper had minor damage, while the Honda had functional damage. Both drivers wore seat belts and reported no injuries. Berends was cited $98.80 for fail/yield/uncontrolled intersection.

At 2:10 p.m., an employee at Kinnic Falls Alcohol-Drug Abuse Facility (900 Orange St.) reported theft by fraud. The employee had received two emails from another employee (so she thought) requesting a bank deposit change. The emails were fraudulent. In all, $9,477.99 was stolen from the complainant’s account.

Wednesday, June 1

At 10 a.m., the owner of ValuStay Inn reported property damage in Room 119. The motel was being vacated for remodeling when the damage was discovered. The damage included a broken window with missing curtain, a broke Insignia flatscreen TV, dam aged drywall and a hole in a door. The damage was listed a $1,400. The suspect had left the night before.

A 14-year-old River Falls High School student was cited $98.80 for habitual truancy at 9:15 a.m. at RFHS (818 Cemetery Road). The student had been truant eight times between Jan. 26 and June 1.

Police responded at 9:19 a.m. to Main and Vine streets where a vehicle had hit a dog.

Multiple witnesses called police; one said the dog had been hit by the rear tires of a flat bed tow truck and she didn’t believe the driver knew. The dog, a white female terrier mix, died at the scene. River Falls Veterinary Clinic took possession of the dog pending identification of an owner. The dog was microchipped but not registered to an owner.

Officers were notified of a two-vehicle crash at 3:10 p.m. that had occurred at 9:10 a.m. in the RFHS (818 Cemetery Road) parking lot between a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan, driven by Jonas Marvin Selb, 17, River Falls, and a legally parked 2012 Toyota Prius, owned by Troy Michael Fredrich, River Falls. Selb was attempting to park next to Fredrich’s vehicle when he struck it, causing minor damage to both vehicles. Selb wore a seat belt and reported no injuries.

Thursday, June 2

Officers responded to a four-vehicle crash at 3:22 p.m. at Main and Powell streets between a 2009 Pontiac G6, driven by Jacob S. Bambanek, 19, Clear Lake; a 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan, driven by Benjamin Robert Durocher, 28, Boyceville; a 2001 Dodge 1500, driven by Jordan Lee Edison, 23, Hammond; and a 2015 Chevrolet Traverse, driven by Emily Elizabeth Gottfredson, 31, River Falls.

Bambanek, Durocher and Edison were heading north on Main Street and had just gone through the Powell Avenue intersection. They were traveling slowly due to backed up traffic. Gottfredson was behind Edison and struck the utility trailer he was pulling, pushing it into the truck. Edison’s truck was then pushed into the rear of Durocher’s Tiguan, who in turn rear-ended Bambanek’s Pontiac. Gottfredson said she had looked down to change the radio station and struck Edison’s trailer. She was cited $111.40 for inattentive driving. The Pontiac had minor damage while the Dodge had functional damage. The Tiguan and Chevy Traverse were towed due to disabling damage. All four drivers wore seat belts and reported no injuries, including a 4-year-old in Gottfredson’s vehicle. Durocher’s passenger, Lydia Rae Kuhl, 28, Boyceville, also wore a seat belt and reported no injuries. Edison’s passenger, Remington Charles Bundt, 28, Black River Falls, wore a seat belt and reported no injuries.

Friday, June 3

At 7 a.m., a River Falls police officer and member of the St. Croix Valley Drug Task Force assisted a Pierce County Sheriff’s Office investigator with a search warrant at 721 E.

Campbell St. Unit B in Ells- worth. The RF officer was part of the entry team and assisted in searching the home.

At 7:45 a.m., a RFHS custodian reported graffiti in the girls’ bathroom located in the Commons. Pictures of male and female genitalia, mushrooms and a chicken nugget, along with profanity, were drawn on the walls. The custodian was able to remove the graffiti. Police were called at 12:29 p.m. to Glen Park (355 Park St.) for a suspicious person complaint. About 250 sixth graders were at the park for an outing and a teacher called to report a man in his 30s acting odd and possibly yelling at a woman during a child custody exchange. He requested extra patrol. Two days later, a student’s father called to report his daughter and her friend had said the man chased after them and grabbed them, but then left. The story cannot be confirmed. Officers responded at 6:45 p.m. to a home in the 100 block of West Cascade Avenue for a domestic in progress. When police arrived, they found a woman and three children huddled on the neighbor’s deck. They heard a man shouting and glass breaking inside the home. The man, identified as Joel Thomas Hunt, 24, River Falls, was taken into custody at Taser point. The victim said Hunt had shown up at the house looking for his “medication.” When she didn’t give it to him, he became irate. She was able to get the kids out to her van, but Hunt followed them and threw a bicycle into the windshield, shattering it.

He then dragged her by her hair into the house where he attempted to choke her. She was able to get away to the neighbor’s. While at the hospital, Hunt had to be restrained and sedated due to his aggressive behavior. He registered a .119 blood alcohol content level and hospital staff believed he had been using drugs. Once medically cleared, Hunt was transported to Pierce County Jail on domestic battery, domestic disorderly conduct, domestic strangulation and suffocation, misdemeanor bail jumping (four counts), criminal damage to property and intimidate victim/dissuade reporting charges.

Saturday, June 4

At 11:02 a.m., an officer heading north on Paulson Road observed a median sign lying on the ground at the Radio Road roundabout. It appeared a vehicle heading north on Paulson had struck the post.

There are no suspects.

Officers responded at 3:31 p.m. to Positive Alternatives (2860 Williams Ave.) where a juvenile punched holes in the wall and threatened to throw a rock through an employee’s vehicle window. Police were able to calm the juvenile down and document this incident.

A Holiday (302 S. Main St.) reported a gas drive off at 3:51 p.m. totaling $73.99. A man in a blue SUV, similar to a Jeep, drove off quickly after pumping the gas. The employee wrote down a plate number, but it didn’t come back to a vehicle matching that description. The store manager will examine video.

Police were called at 9:48 p.m. to Holiday (302 S. Main St.) where a complainant said a man in a white Grand Am had thrown a beer and pointed a gun at him near Main and Division streets. The complainant said he was driving south on Highway 35 coming home from work. He caught up to a white BMW with Minnesota plates, which brakechecked him on the highway.

They exited onto Main Street and near Jerry’s Towing, the BMW stopped in the road, so the complainant drove around it. When he passed the BMW, one of its occupants threw a beer can, which struck his passenger window. He then stopped at the stoplight at Main and Division streets.

The BMW pulled up next to him in the left-turn lane and the driver pointed a handgun at him, across a female passenger, for about 10 seconds. The complainant continued south on Main Street, while the BMW followed him “kissing his bumper.” He saw the BMW pull into the Holiday lot and he followed them in there, where the BMW driver walked toward his vehicle and pointed a handgun at him again, for about one minute. The man never said a word to the complainant, just pointed a black handgun. He described the suspect as a heavier-set white man in his 30s with a short beard, brown sweatshirt and black shorts. The woman was white and in her late 20s/ early 30s with longer brown hair. The man got back into his vehicle and headed east on Spring Street. The case remains under investigation.

Monday, June 6

At 12:30 a.m., a mother in the 400 block of Wasson Lane called police to report her daughter hadn’t come home at the appointed 11 p.m. curfew. She said her daughter had been gone with her boyfriend since 10 a.m. and keeps staying out later and later. Eventually the juvenile returned at 2:15 a.m. The mother said she’d seek resources for help. A resident at 426 E. Pine St. reported a theft at 4:19 p.m.

While going through her file cabinet, she noticed several personal documents, records and bank statements missing.

She last saw the documents about one month ago. Police noticed no forced entry and advised her to lock her doors. Nothing else appeared to be missing.

Ashley Mary Craver, 35, River Falls, was arrested for a failure to appear warrant at 8:50 p.m. at 437 Kennedy St. She was transported to Pierce County Jail without incident.

Tuesday, June 7

While parked on patrol on Cemetery Road, a passerby informed police at 12:16 a.m. that a vehicle was in the ditch at the entrance of 1450 S. Wasson Lane. Police found an unoccupied Ford Explorer in the ditch with no apparent damage.

The driver, identified as Angel Marie Valdez, 36, River Falls, was standing near the vehicle with a juvenile. She told police they’d been heading to Kwik Trip, but got in an argument and turned around to go home, at which time they got stuck in the ditch. Valdez smelled strongly of alcohol and had slow speech and glassy eyes.

She had trouble balancing and swayed as she walked. She admitted to having a few beers at her home in the 500 block of Birchcrest Drive and said she couldn’t remember why they decided to turn around.

Officers found a can of Vizzy seltzer in the cup holder. After performing field sobriety tests, police arrested and cited her $500 for OWI-first (with passenger < 16 years old) and $197 for possess open intoxicants in motor vehicle – driver.