RIVER FALLS Police Department Reports

The following incidents were reported to the River Falls Police Department Oct. 11-18.

Monday, Oct. 11

At 5:40 a.m., police received a call from a driver parked at the corner of Glenmeadow Street and Liberty Road who said a resident at 863 Glenmeadow St. had pulled a gun on him. The suspect also called police to report the driver had threatened to use a gun on him. The driver told police he works for a transportation company and he picks up children at a nearby group home weekdays at 6 a.m. to transport them to a day center in Menomonie. He sometimes arrives early, so he parks at the Glenmeadow/Liberty corner to watch videos on his phone and kill time. The 50-yearold resident said his wife and daughter have the noticed the van parking there for a few weeks in the mornings, and were concerned the man was stalking them. On Oct. 11, the resident decided to confront the driver and took his 9mm Sig Sauer P320 pistol as precaution. He pulled his truck up next to the driver’s van and startled the driver, who admitted he immediately became defensive and said he could park there because it was free country. The two exchanged heated words. The resident’s daughter followed her dad in her vehicle, and parked it about 30 feet behind the driver so he couldn’t leave. The driver said the resident accused him of stalking his wife, which confused him because he had no idea what he was talking about. He became afraid so he told the resident he was calling police and had a gun, at which time the resident pulled his pistol out of his truck and allegedly pointed it at the driver. The resident said he never pointed it at the driver, but said the clip was in the truck and that he got the gun out because the driver said he had one. After words were exchanged and the driver called police, the resident’s daughter returned home and the resident drove up the street because he didn’t want the driver to know where he lived, but he returned to the house because his daughter was there. The resident had his daughter hide the gun upstairs while he called police. The driver, at that point, said he went toward the house to get the address number so he could give it to police. The resident said in hindsight he made a bad decision. The case is still under investigation.

Tuesday, Oct. 12

At 6:09 a.m., police were called to Holiday (302 S. Main St.) for a disturbance. A man was harassing customers and asking them for drugs. The man, identified as Ross C. Raven, 25, River Falls. He had been transported to the temporary shelter at Hoffman Park the night prior by Ellsworth police, when he was released from Pierce County Jail. Raven told police he was there to buy candy, but only had 40 cents. When customers entered the store, he’d yell “Welcome, how’s your day?” When they’d leave, he’d yell “Goodbye, have a great day!” He was also carrying a yellow flashlight that he said he obtained at Hoffman Park. The officer bought Raven a breakfast sandwich and asked him to talk outside. Raven said he had no one to call and nowhere to go until a no contact order was expired. When police told him he couldn’t stay at the gas station, he started swearing and flipping off police, scaring customers. Police told him to leave and he said he he’d go walk around. When officers checked out the storm shelter at which Raven had spent the night, they found three destroyed flashlights and a note that said “I will be back.” He was arrested later at 1:14 p.m. near Family Fresh for misdemeanor bail jumping.

At 2:50 p.m., police learned a juvenile had been truant from school 10 days since school began. On Oct. 13, at a residence in the 200 block of East Cascade Avenue, the juvenile was cited $98.80 for habitual truancy.

At 4 p.m., police responded to 218 W. Charlotte St. for a vandalism complaint. The complainant said someone had torn the coin mechanism out of its housing atop a Whirlpool HD commercial washing machine, two or three nights prior. The property manager estimated the damage to be between $250 and $900. A suspect was identified.

At 7:58 p.m. police responded to a two-vehicle crash between a 2016 Ford Escape, driven by Tami Marie Duran, 47, River Falls, and a 2015 Volkswagen Passat, driven by Taylor Grace DeGroot, 19, Green Bay. Duran was at the Spruce Street stop sign, facing south. When she pulled out to make a left-hand turn onto Cascade, she struck DeGroot, who had the right-of-way. Duran said she didn’t see DeGroot’s vehicle. Both drivers wore seat belts and reported no injuries. Duran’s vehicle had minor damage, while DeGroot’s had functional damage. Duran was cited $98.80 for fail/yield right of way from stop sign.

Wednesday, Oct. 13

At 8:05 a.m., Meyer Middle School staff reported an incident from Oct. 12 in which a student refused to leave school after school. A safety plan in place does not allow the student in a certain area of the school after school. The student defied staff when they asked the juvenile to leave and became lippy. The next day, the juvenile apologized for being disrespectful when interviewed by the principal and police.

Officers responded to a two-vehicle crash at 3:44 p.m. at East Division and North Second Street between a 2010 Honda Civic, driven by Robert Jerome Bertram, 59, River Falls, and a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe, driven by Alyssa Paige Muller, 26, Hudson. Muller said she was traveling eastbound on West Division Street and stopped at the stop sign at Second Street. She said she was looking south for vehicles and didn’t see Bertram turn left in front of her to head southbound on Second Street as she proceeded into the intersection. She struck Bertram’s passenger side. Both drivers wore seat belts and had no injuries. Bertram’s vehicle had functional damage, while Muller’s damage was minor.

At 10:53 p.m., police conducted a traffic stop for speeding on North Main Street near Kwik Trip (1238 N. Main St.) The driver was identified as Nicolas R. Cox, 34, River Falls. Police could smell alcohol and Cox’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy. The officer also saw an open White Claw in a fastfood bag in the back seat. After completing field sobriety tests, Cox registered a .118 PBT. Police found four empty White Claw cans in the vehicle, plus a vape pen that tested positive for THC. He was arrested for OWI, booked and released to a sober person. A misdemeanor bail jumping charge was also forwarded to the district attorney, since Cox has an open misdemeanor case in which the bond conditions prohibit alcohol consumption.

On Oct. 13, a Turningpoint for Victims of Domestic & Sexual Violence employee reported the organization has been receiving multiple obscene and vulgar calls and messages from a man who describes graphic, sexual acts he would like to perform on children and babies. The man left his contact information and said he was high on methamphetamine. The suspect was identified as

Shane Allen Herman, 49, Inver Grove Heights, Minn. Herman was arrested in Minnesota on an outstanding warrant and taken to Ramsey County Jail. Officers there said it’s possible Herman thought he was calling a sex hotline. Charges for disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a telephone were forwarded to the Pierce County District Attorney.

Thursday, Oct. 14

At 1:38 a.m., a Pierce County deputy asked for assistance at a vehicle crash at County Road FF and Greenwood Valley Drive in the town of River Falls. A resident had heard a loud crash and found a vehicle nearby in the ditch. When police arrived, they found an unoccupied 2013 Ford Focus with air bags deployed and what was believed to be blood on the rear driver’s side door. Police heard two male voices south of the crash site, and found two men standing in a driveway at W10001 County Road FF. The driver, Bradley Hetchler, 30, River Falls, had blood on his face and hands and slurred speech. He admitted he drove the car into the ditch and was “trying to make it home.” The other man, a nearby resident, helped support Hetchler, who was stumbling. EMS arrived to treat Hetchler, who was arrested for OWI-first by PCSO.

At 9:58 a.m., a Baldwin man reported his vehicle, a 2012 Chevy Malibu, as stolen. The last time he saw it was when he and a woman were arrested for a disorderly conduct incident at 315 River St. on Sept. 4. He said the woman had his vehicle, and that he had just been released from jail. When police made contact with the woman, she said she’d had the vehicle, but left it parked in front of the complainant’s Baldwin residence on Oct. 10 with the keys in it. The case remains under investigation.

At 11:50 p.m., police conducted a traffic stop for speeding at Main and Church streets. Upon contact, the officer smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle’s interior. The driver was identified as Hunter Weston Cary, 19, Oakdale, Minn., admitted to smoking marijuana 10 minutes before being pulled over. He declined to undergo field sobriety tests and was placed under arrest. On his person, police found a bag of marijuana in his shorts pocket. Two passengers were also in the vehicle, ages 8 and 15. In the car, officers found two “roaches” and an ashtray with a burnt, green, leafy substance. Cary was taken to River Falls Area Hospital for a blood draw. He was cited $98.80 for speeding on city highway and $500 for operating while under the influence of a controlled substance (with passengers under age 16). Possession of THC and possess drug paraphernalia charged were forwarded to the district attorney. He was released to his mother’s care.

Friday, Oct. 15

At 7:53 a.m., a woman called police to report a Hyundai Elantra GT stolen. She said the vehicle was taken sometime between 7 a.m. Oct. 14 and 7 a.m. Oct. 15. from the outside parking lot between buildings. She said she left an extra set of keys in the glove box and that the vehicle may have been unlocked. She called back at 10:50 a.m. and said her ex-fiance had told her he didn’t pay for the vehicle like he was supposed to and it had been repossessed.

Saturday, Oct. 16

At 2:10 a.m., an officer pulled a vehicle over after seeing it make a wide turn onto Main Street from West Walnut Street. The vehicle jerked back into its lane and began speeding, reaching 44 mph, before slowing to turn east onto Spring Street. The driver was identified as Ryan Anthony Cusin, 26, Hudson. He had slurred speech, glassy eyes and smelled of alcohol. The officer saw an open bottle of Pink Whitney liquor behind the passenger seat. After failing field sobriety tests and registering a .157 PBT, police arrested Cusin for OWI-second. Cusin told a friend who approached the scene not to worry because his dad “would get him out of it.” He was booked and released to a sober party. He was also cited $124 for speeding on city highway and $500 for OWI-second.

Officers responded to a two-vehicle crash at 6:52 a.m. at Kwik Trip (1200 S. Main St.) between a 1999 Subaru Outback, driven by Melissa Hall, 30, River Falls, and a legally parked 2012 Ford Edge, owned by Amanda Leigh Bolden, Hammond. Bolden was inside working when Hall backed into her parked vehicle. Hall said she didn’t see the vehicle and was told to be more careful. She wore a seat belt and reported no injuries. Both vehicles had minor damage.

At 7:53 a.m., officers received a harassment complaint at Holiday (302 S. Main St.) where a man harassed an employee about another employee. The man, identified as Christopher Lee Barnett, 41, River Falls, made inappropriate sexual comments about the employee. He was trespassed from the store.

Sunday, Oct. 17

At 1:16 a.m., an officer observed a vehicle traveling northbound on Main Street near Maple Street at a high rate of speed and heard excessive noise. He conducted a traffic stop and identified the driver as Randall Lee Caldwell, 18, Several passengers were in the vehicle, including four crammed into the back seat of the four-door sedan. The front-seat passenger, Alexander James Kaphingst, 18, was identified as the vehicle’s owner. When asked for vehicle registration, he handed the officer a handful of receipts. He and the driver both smelled of alcohol but denied drinking. They had bloodshot, glassy eyes and struggled to speak clearly. Junghans also had trouble standing and registered a .129 PBT. Caldwell failed field sobriety tests and registered a .085 PBT. Caldwell was arrested and taken to the station to be booked. He told police he was driving Kaphingst’s vehicle back to Stillwater, Minn. and had had three or four shots of Fireball. They had come to River Falls to pick up some girls Kaphingst knew. He claimed not to know the girls in the vehicle, and said they were Kaphingst’s friends. The girls, who are from Roberts and River Falls, were 18, 13 and 14. Another 19-year-old male passenger was in the back seat as well. One girl said she was peerpressured into drinking alcohol; police found a bottle of Fireball in the car. Caldwell was arrested and cited $500 for OWI-first (with passengers under 16) and $98.80 for speeding on city highway. Kaphingst was arrested and cited $313 for sell/dispense/give alcohol to underage person, $187 for underage drinking/possession of alcohol, and $124 for possess open intoxicants in motor vehicle-passenger. The girls were released to a parent, while the men were released to a sober party.

Monday, Oct. 18

At 7:28 a.m., a 15-year-old student at River Falls High School shouted “That person has a gun.” He admitted it was a false statement and was cited $98.80 for disorderly conduct.

A McMillan Hall resident assistant reported at 10:38 p.m. that they’d found two orange detour signs and multiple orange cones in two rooms on the fourth floor (700 E. Cascade Ave.) Two men admitted to taking the signs and cones around 9 p.m. Oct. 9.

Colten Scott Bond, 18, River Falls, and Benjamin Allan Koser, 18, River Falls, were both cited $250 for theft – movable property.