The following incidents were reported to River Falls Police Department Oct. 6-13, 2025.

Monday, Oct. 6

Officers were dispatched at 8 p.m. to 1450 S. Wasson Lane #70, for a domestic. A woman and her ex-boyfriend had gotten into a verbal argument and he left in his truck. He later sent a text saying she had better have a small army present when he returned or he was going to knock her teeth in. When he returned around 8:53 p.m., police arrested Austin Daniel Anderson, 25, River Falls, for domestic disorderly conduct and computer message – threaten injury or harm and transported him to Pierce County Jail.

Tuesday, Oct. 7

• At 7:15 a.m., police were informed of a theft that had occurred the day before from the boys locker room at River Falls High School (818 Cemetery Road). During a football game, two players’ debit cards were stolen from their unlocked lockers, as well as $30 in cash from one and $180 in cash from the other. Another player, Griffin Lyle Klecker, 18, River Falls, said he’d had $20 stolen, but later admitted he had taken his teammates’ cash and debit cards “out of greed.” He charged $526.40 on one card for PlayStation purchases, and $158.24 on the other card. Klecker was cited $250 for theft and ordered to pay restitution on the cash. Police retrieved $88 in cash from Klecker’s car, who denied taking more cash. He will be required to repay the rest.
• Joseph Judah Ritger, 24, River Falls, was cited $124 for urinating in public after urinating on a building at 11:45 a.m. at 112 N. Main St.
• At 2:39 p.m., police received an online complaint from a 22-year-old man about threats he had received on the River Falls Community Page 2.0 Facebook page. An anonymous poster wrote: “"I have marshaled all of my sorcerous might to cast a blight upon (name). I curse his bloodline for ten generations. His fields will lie fallow and his seed will shrivel and fail. He has brought this on himself, and may the God's have mercy upon him for what I must do" The post was taken down within a few hours. The complainant said he is employed by Charlie Kirk's organization Turning Point Action and felt that may be why he was targeted. He reached out to the page administrators but hadn’t received a response. Police advised him to remain vigilant of his surroundings and to report any additional suspicious activity or threats. Police contacted Facebook in hopes of identifying the anonymous poster.
• Officers responded to a two-vehicle crash at 4:41 p.m. at Second and Walnut streets between a 2020 Nissan Rogue, driven by a 17-year-old Hudson juvenile, and a 2021 Chevy Blazer, driven by Michael Frances Helmueller, 77, River Falls. The juvenile was traveling east in the 100 block of East Walnut Street, while Helmueller was traveling north on Second Street. The juvenile proceeded from the stop sign into the intersection, where Helmueller, who had the right-of-way, struck her. The juvenile said she was having issues with her brakes. Both vehicles were towed due to disabling damage. The juvenile reported possible injuries but was not transported. Helmueller and passenger Lois A. Helmueller, 76, River Falls, reported no injuries. The juvenile was cited $98.80 for fail/yield right/way from stop sign.
• Police were notified of an incident at 5:25 p.m. at the River Falls Dog Park (W10225 County Road FF). The complainant stated that at 4:30 p.m., a brown Lab had attacked her miniature brown Poodle and bitten or scratched its ear. When she asked the dog’s owner for his information, he called her a profane name and left the park. She wrote down his license plate number and gave it to police. When police contacted him, he said he wasn’t the dog’s owner and that the complainant had been the disorderly one. He was warned for his behavior. The dog’s owner, however, agreed to cover any vet bills for the complainant.

Wednesday, Oct. 8

• Police were dispatched to a theft complaint at 2:44 p.m. at Kwik Trip (1238 N. Main St.) The store manager gave police information on multiple thefts by Benjamin Todd Manns, 19, River Falls. He had been trespassed from the store and cited for theft but continued to steal from the store. He was caught on camera taking $19.71 in merchandise on multiple occasions, including between 2:20 a.m. and 2:40 a.m. Oct. 4, at 2:50 a.m. Oct. 4, at 1 a.m. Oct. 5 and on Oct. 6. When confronted by police, he said he had no money after paying his phone bill and was living in his disabled car. He was cited $187 for trespassing on private property (two counts) and $187 for retail theft – intentionally take.
• At 2:29 p.m., police responded to 657 N. Main St. where a rental 2022 Buick Envision had not been returned as scheduled. The vehicle had been rented by Tyria P. Hollis, 34, West St. Paul, Minn., at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 3 and was supposed to be returned at 8 a.m. Oct. 5. The business attempted to reach Hollis by phone several times with no response. She replied to an email, saying her phone had been stolen. She promised to return the vehicle by 2 p.m. Oct. 8 but did not. A GPS tracker showed the vehicle in the Como Park area. St. Paul police impounded the vehicle. A theft – written lease > $10,000 charge was forwarded to the district attorney’s office for Hollis.
• At 11:05 p.m., police helped mediate a civil argument about vehicle keys between a couple who had split at 1457 Wildcat Court. The male party also reported receiving 13 harassing phone calls and multiple texts from an unknown number. Police attempted to reach the caller, but it went to voicemail.

Thursday, Oct. 9

• Richard Bruce Roland III, 34, River Falls, was arrested and cited $986 for OWI and $986 for operating with PAC after a traffic stop for crossing the center line, driving recklessly through a yellow light that turned red and almost striking a curb at 12:09 a.m. at Main and Park streets. Roland told police he was coming from a buddy’s house, but later changed that to Emma’s Bar. He smelled of alcohol and was slurring his words. After completing field sobriety tests and registering a BAC of .209, he was arrested and booked at the station.
• Police responded at 2:12 p.m. to a group home at 211 S. Cudd Ave. for a mental health crisis. A 38-year-old man was kicking walls, yelling, attempting to kick down a locked office door and screaming at staff for lying and “not delivering” on promises. He was upset about missing a van ride earlier that morning. He had told another resident the world would be better if they died, thrown a new TV, spit chewed food at staff and tried to grab her phone. A family member agreed to take the man for a few hours so he could calm down.
• At 2:18 p.m., a woman reported attempted fraud at an address on River Street. She said her sister’s computer had started flashing and appeared to be frozen. A screen popped up from “Microsoft Security” with a phone number, stating to call them for assistance because her computer was compromised. She called the number (870-277-3885) and spoke to “Edwin” who told her that someone had hacked into her computer and retrieved her bank information, so her money was no longer safe in her bank account and told her that she should purchase gold, and once she did that, someone from a secure transport service would pick up the gold and keep it safe while they investigated the matter. She called King’s Ransom Gold & Silver Saint and spoke to Dan. She then wire transferred $257,200 to King’s Ransom to purchase gold. The woman then sent the wire transfer information to Edwin, which included her social security number, routing numbers, and address. The woman realized it was a scam, called King’s Ransom, who said they have the gold, but are unwilling to reimburse her because they already purchased the gold from a precious metal broker, as they do not have $257,200.00 in gold readily available, and would suffer a substantial loss if they reimbursed her. The woman stated she and her sister are going to go pick up the gold and will advise if this was also a scam, but she believes King’s Ransom to be a legitimate business and that they were not involved in the scam.
• Officers were dispatched to a one-vehicle crash at 3:30 p.m. at Powell Avenue and Apollo Road. A 2009 Toyota Corolla, driven by Kate L. Nickleski, 18, River Falls, swerved to avoid a collision while turning onto Powell Avenue and went into the ditch. Jerry’s towed the vehicle, which had minor damage, out of the ditch. No injuries were reported.
• Police responded to a domestic at 5:41 p.m. at 1219 Emily Circle. A woman reported her roommate had become angry when she came home with two male friends and threatened her with a baseball bat. She provided audio recording of the incident. The homeowner, Nathan David Garavalia, 49, River Falls, told police he didn’t want her living there or in his house. He was arrested for domestic disorderly conduct and taken to Pierce County Jail.
• Police were dispatched to a domestic at 10:47 p.m. at 434 Griffey St. The resident said her ex was staying there for a short time to see their children and became angry when she didn’t return from a friend’s home on time to watch a movie. She denied anything physical had taken place and didn’t want to press charges. Franklin Vincent Masterson, 45, River Falls, was arrested for a probation violation and transported to Pierce County Jail without incident. CPS was informed of the incident due to the mother drinking alcohol and an argument occurring while two children were home.

Friday, Oct. 10

• At 7:41 a.m., a man reported his son’s Buick emblem was taken off of his vehicle while parked at Cascade Avenue and Main Street. The emblem was valued at $48.
• Police were dispatched to a vehicle theft at 2:20 p.m. at 1219 Emily Circle. The homeowner reported that Nicole Marie Whipple, 37, River Falls, was trying to take his 2010 Jeep Liberty without permission. He was not allowed at the residence due to a domestic the day before and was currently parked at BP on North Main. When police responded to the residence, the Jeep was gone. They located Whipple in Prescott at Fairy Wonderland Park. She told police the complainant had purchased the vehicle for her to use; he denied this and provided a bill of sale. The previous owner confirmed he’d sold the Jeep to the complainant, not Whipple. Police arrested her for felony take and drive vehicle without owner’s consent and a probation hold and transported her to Pierce County Jail. The Jeep was located near Diamond Bluff, where it had broken down.
• Police responded to a fraud complaint at 6 p.m. at 1762 Windflower St. The complainant had received a letter in the mail stating that due to income being reported on her juvenile son’s social security number, they had to pay $14,000 in 30 days or risk incarceration. The complainant believed someone had obtained her son’s information in a data security breach at a regional hospital. The case is under investigation.
• Police responded to a two-vehicle crash at 9:36 p.m. on East Walnut Street between a 2011 Ford Edge, driven by Ava Christine Del Castillo, 22, Vadnais Heights, Minn., and a legally parked 2017 Jeep Renegade, owned by Devan W. Schrader, Chippewa Falls. Del Castillo was backing out of a parking stall when she backed into Schrader’s Jeep, causing minor damage to both vehicles. No injuries were reported.

Saturday, Oct. 11

• Brenna Jo LaBahn, 18, Ellsworth, was cited $187 for possession of THC after a traffic stop for operating without lights at 1:13 a.m. at Vine and Main streets. LaBahn said she had dropped friends off at a party and they left items in her vehicle, including alcohol and THC alcohol cans.
• Officers were dispatched to a two-vehicle crash at 12:49 p.m. at Main Street and Powell Avenue between a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, driven by Wayne Allen Johnson, 60, New Richmond, and a 2021 Chevy Blazer, driven by Peter Edwin Demuth, 81, River Falls. Johnson rear-ended Demuth, who was stopped for a red light that had just turned green. The Dodge had no damage while the Chevy had minor damage. Neither driver nor passenger Cheryl Ruth Demuth, 78, River Falls, reported injuries. Johnson was cited $111.40 for inattentive driving and $124 for operate motor vehicle without insurance.
• At 9:01 p.m., police saw two people walking with open containers of alcohol at Walnut and Second streets. Ava Marie Korbel, 20, Faribault, Minn., was cited $187 for underage drinking. The male was 21; both were warned for carrying alcohol and told to dump it out.

Monday, Oct. 13

Police were dispatched at 5:32 a.m. to South Town Cleaners (1025 S. Main St.) for a man found sleeping in the bathroom. A cleaner had found the man sleeping inside at least four mornings. Police arrested Jerome Walter Zemke, 51, homeless, for misdemeanor bail jumping and transported him to Pierce County Jail. He registered a .172 BAC, which violated his bond conditions. Police also found bottles of Fireball and vodka in his coat sleeves. He was trespassed from the business.