RIVER FALLS Police Department Reports

Aug. 3

Police responded to a twovehicle crash at 2:46 p.m. Aug. 3 at Main and Union streets between a 2007 Chrysler Sebring, driven by Hollie D. Raphael, 51, River Falls, and a 2017 Dodge Durango, driven by David Allen Vold, 74, River Falls. Vold, who was heading northbound on Main Street, slowed down for a pedestrian crossing the roadway. Raphael, who was behind Vold, was looking down at her ashtray and crashed into Vold’s back-end. Raphael’s vehicle had disabling damage, while Vold’s had functional damage. Both drivers wore seat belts; Vold reported no injuries, while Raphael reported possible injuries. Raphael was cited $111.40 for inattentive driving and $124 for operate motor vehicle without insurance.

Thomas H. Vogler, 69, River Falls, reported striking a deer at 9:14 p.m. Aug. 3 on Highway 35 near Golf View Drive in River Falls. Vogler’s 2012 Ford Escape had functional damage. Vogler, who wore a seat belt, reported no injuries.

At 10:49 p.m. Aug. 3 an officer responded to a home in the 1000 block of East Cascade Avenue for juvenile runaways. One juvenile had been located by the time officers arrived. The other juvenile was eventually located and agreed to come home after admitting to throwing a glass candle at their mother.

Aug. 4

At 3:51 a.m. Aug. 4, RFPD was notified of a vehicle pursuit in progress by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. A Rudesill Builders trailer had been stolen from 823 Benson St. The driver, Timothy Chambers, 22, Prescott, was apprehended by PCSO. The 1997 Wells Cargo enclosed trailer contained a miter saw, a stretch plank, a ladder, two wall jacks, a circular saw and other tools. Police observed tire impressions in the location the trailer had been parked at.

At 8 a.m. Aug. 4, a resident reported returning to her residence at 103 ½ N. Pearl St. to find the front door wide open and a spare key missing. The cat food usually kept on the top of the refrigerator was moved down onto the kitchen floor, along with an acorn. The back door was unlocked, although the resident remembered locking both front and back doors when she left at 6 p.m. the night before. Nothing was missing.

Police responded to a twovehicle crash at 11 a.m. Aug. 4 at a parking lot on Commerce Court between a 2004 Chevrolet Sedan, driven by Connor Allen Dunford, 16, New Richmond, and a parked 2016 Ford Edge, owned by Stephen John Rivard, River Falls. Dunford was backing into a stall when he struck the right rear quarter panel of the Edge. Both vehicles had minor damage. No injuries were reported.

An officer responded at 6:20 p.m. to 232 W. Maple St. for a stolen bike that had been located. The complainant said she went outside her apartment at 5:20 p.m. at 1029 State St. to go for a bike ride, but her bike was missing from the bike rack. It had been chained and locked, but the lock was also missing. She decided to go for a walk and found her bike chained to another bike in Heritage Park (232 W. Maple St.) She did not know who the other bike belonged to. An officer verified the bike ownership and cut the chain so the complainant could remove her bike. There are no suspects.

Aug. 5

At 11:45 a.m. Aug. 5, officers responded to the area of South Main Street and Cascade Avenue for a disturbance between a man and woman. Police Chief Gordon Young witnessed the event and was also on scene. He saw the pair having a verbal altercation and when the woman, who was crying, turned to walk away, the man grabbed her shirt and prevented her from leaving. Young separated the two and the woman appeared fearful of the man. He was placed in handcuffs when he became angry and started yelling during questioning. William Zachary Thomas Swanson,

22, Scottsbluff, Neb., was arrested for disorderly conduct.

At 6:17 p.m. Aug. 5, a complainant reported her dog being attacked by three other dogs while they were on a walk near 537 E. Maple St. The complainant said this has been an ongoing issue. The three dogs ran from the yard out into the street and attacked the other dog. The complainant said when she picked up her dog, another dog was hanging off its tail. The complainant’s dog had two puncture wounds. Joseph John Brellenthin, 50, River Falls, was cited $86.20 for dog or cat running at large.

Aug. 7

At 2:40 p.m., officers responded to Aldi (1567 Sullivan Court) for a possible purse snatching. The suspect vehicle was a blue SUV with Minnesota plates that had headed toward Hudson. A St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office deputy located and stopped the vehicle. The people said they had found the purse outside Aldi, near the parking lot. They were planning to turn it into the Kwik Trip, but got into an argument and threw the purse out the window. The purse was wet, full of rocks, make-up and a generic car key. It appeared to have been outside for quite some time. It was thrown away.

Blake Dale James Patrow,

17, River Falls, was cited $187 for possession of THC and $187 for possess drug paraphernalia at 11:28 p.m. Aug. 7 on South Main Street near West Park Street.

Aug. 8

At 12:30 a.m., officers responded to 1450 S. Wasson Lane for an injunction violation where a man had been contacting someone by phone and making threatening remarks. Extra patrol was requested in case the man tried to make physical contact.

Jedith M. Hanson, 30, River Falls, was arrested for OWI by UW-River Falls police after a traffic stop around 3:07 a.m. Aug. 8 at Sycamore and Broadway streets. A River Falls officer and a UWRF officer were conducting field sobriety tests on another individual on a traffic stop on Main Street just north of Foster Street. A vehicle heading northbound honked its horn and sounded like it had a flat tire. As the vehicle passed, it bumped into the curb on the east side of the street and continued to drive while rubbing its tires on the curb. The UWRF officer stopped the vehicle; the front passenger tire was completely flat. Officers could smell a strong odor of intoxicants coming from the driver, who had slurred speech and trouble maintaining his balance. Hanson failed field sobriety tests.

Police responded to a twovehicle crash at 2:22 p.m. Aug. 8 at Main and Pomeroy streets between a 2004 Chevy Silverado, driven by Cody Hunter Scharffbillig, 21, Somerset, and a 2016 Toyota Camry, driven by Anthony Karl Tellin, 41, River Falls. Scharffbillig had been traveling southbound on North Main Street behind Tellin, who had stopped due to a red light at Powell Avenue. Scharffbillig didn’t notice vehicles stopped in front of him and struck the back of Tellin’s vehicle. Both vehicles had minor damage. Scharffbillig and his passenger, Alexi Christine Vanbeek, 22, Roberts, wore seat belts and reported no injuries. Tellin, who also wore a seat belt, reported possible injuries but declined EMS. Scharffbillig was cited $111.40 for inattentive driving. At 11:47 p.m. Aug. 8, officers were sent to 105 N. Main St. for a fight in progress between three men. A complainant reported men drinking and arguing. One man apparently grabbed a hammer and began hitting a door when another man wouldn’t answer his door to talk to him. When police arrived, a man was on the awning above a store, having crawled out an apartment window. The man had fled onto the awning when the other man began beating on his door with the hammer. The victim said the aggressor had come after him earlier in the day, punching him and pushing him toward a window. The victim hit the other man with a small wooden “souvenir bat” to get him off of him, which resulted in the man’s head bleeding. Another roommate took the bleeding man to the hospital for his injuries, and the fight erupted again when he returned. The man who had fled to the awning showed police bruising and scratches on his neck and a black eye. Police took photos of the damage from the hammer and the man’s injuries. Andrew Cory Paulson, 29, River Falls, was eventually arrested, after gathering witness accounts, for battery, resisting or obstructing an officer, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct. Since he had staples in his head from the souvenir bat, he had to be medically cleared before going to Pierce County Jail.

Aug. 9

At 6:15 a.m., police took a call regarding vehicle vandalism at 287 W. Johnson St. The complainant said she stayed the night at the above address; she parked her vehicle in a designated parking spot at about 3:30 p.m. Aug. 8. She last observed her vehicle with no damage at 10 p.m. When she left the following morning at 5:45 a.m., a white penis had been painted on her rear windshield.

At 11:48 a.m., police responded to DeSanctis Park (1543 Roosevelt St.) for two men arguing in the park. One man had allegedly displayed a knife, according to witnesses. While police were en route to the park, both men left in separate vehicles. According to the witnesses, when they arrived at the park that morning, a tan Nissan Maxima was left unattended with blankets covering the front two windows. At around 11:10 a.m., a Hyundai Palisade dropped off a man, later identified as Elijah Durnbaugh, 40, River Falls. The other vehicle left, and Durnbaugh began cussing and yelling about his keys. He made a phone call, removed his shirt, and walked around yelling and kicking random objects. Around 11:30 a.m., a Honda Civic arrived and one witness could no longer see what was happening, but heard a lot of cussing and arguing between two men. The other witness saw the man from the Honda Civic pull out a knife and “pursue” Durnbaugh. After the men left, they were eventually located; the man with the knife was identified as Caleb Jeremiah Pease, 35, River Falls. Pease was arrested and taken to RFPD for booking. Charges were referred for Durnbaugh.

At 11:20 a.m. Aug. 9, officers responded to BP (1553 Paulson Road) for a gas driveoff. An SUV with Minnesota plates had dispensed $35.90 in gas and left. The registered owner was contacted and agreed to return to pay for the gas, as she had forgotten to.

At 6:01 p.m., police responded to a three-vehicle crash at North Main and Union streets between a 2015 Chevy Malibu, driven by Carly Lynn Raddant, 20, Shawano; a 2009 Honda Accord, driven by

Gabrielle Ann Brotka, 21, River Falls; and a 2005 Chrysler 300, driven by Devin Raye Mustache, 43, River Falls. Raddant and Brotka had been stopped in the southbound lane on North Main Street. Mustache, also heading southbound on North Main, struck the rear of Brotka’s vehicle, which caused the front end to collide with the back of Raddant’s vehicle. Mustache said he had looked back in his rear view mirror and when he looked ahead again, the vehicles in front of him were stopped. All three drivers wore seat belts and reported no injuries.

Nicholas Matthew Score, 22, River Falls, a passenger in Brotka’s vehicle, also wore a seat belt and reported no injuries. All vehicles had minor damage. Mustache was cited $111.40 for inattentive driving.

At 6:19 p.m., police were called to 1485 Wildcat Court for a runaway vulnerable adult. A senior man had walked away during a family argument. He was located and taken home by a family member. The incident was referred to the Aging & Disability Resource Center.

Ayanna Raven Benitez, 51, River Falls, was arrested at 8:14 p.m. at Hoffman Park Campground (547 Hanson Drive) on a body only failure to appear warrant. She was taken to Pierce County Jail without incident.

At 9 p.m., a resident brought a gray and white cat to the police department. The cat was found on Cascade Avenue without tags or collar. The cat’s owner was located.

Aug. 10

At 12:10 a.m., police responded to 519 Birch St. for a physical domestic in progress.

Leonardo Antonio Medina Gonzalez, 43, River Falls, was arrested for strangulation and suffocation and domestic disorderly conduct. He was taken to Pierce County Jail.