SHAKOPEE BEHEADING

Grand jury indicts boyfriend in death of Shakopee woman

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a man on first-degree murder charges in the gruesome death of his girlfriend in Shakopee. The jury indicted Alexis Saborit on Friday in the death of his longtime girlfriend America Mafalda Thayer. His bail also was raised from $2.5 million to $4 million. Saborit is accused of beheading Thayer in a vehicle in front of onlookers near downtown Shakopee on July 28 as the two were on the way to his court appearance for felony charges alleging that he had set fire to the couple’s apartment.

AP-US-ABANDONED-SUV-BODIES

Suspect in killing of 4 in Wisconsin arrested in Arizona

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — One of two men suspected in the shooting deaths of four people whose bodies were found in an abandoned SUV in Wisconsin has been arrested in Arizona. Antoine Darnique Suggs turned himself in to police in Gilbert, Arizona, on Friday. The arrest came two days after St. Paul, Minnesota, police arrested Suggs’ father, who has been charged with helping hide the victims’ bodies. Authorities say Suggs was seen at a St. Paul bar with victim Nitosha Flug-Presley and two of her friends hours before they were found dead along with a fourth victim.

MINNESOTA STORMS

SD girl killed in Minnesota storms that spawned 2 tornadoes

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — A line of strong storms brought damaging winds and at least a couple tornadoes to Minnesota and western Wisconsin early Friday, causing at least one death. Authorities in Mankato say a 4-year-old girl died when a tree branch fell on a tent at a city park around 2:30 a.m. The girl was from South Dakota and was with her family at the park for an annual powwow. Winds gusted to 64 mph at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport just after 3 a.m. The National Weather Service reports the storms spawned at least a couple tornadoes, one in Burnsville and the other in Apple Valley.

GEORGE FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS POLICE

Early voting begins on Minneapolis policing ballot question

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Early voting is underway in Minneapolis, a day after the Minnesota Supreme cleared the way for a ballot question over whether the city should replace its police department with a new Department of Public Safety. Supporters of the proposed charter amendment say it’s the only way to fix an intransigent culture of brutal policing that culminated with the death of George Floyd last summer. Opponents say too many questions about how the new department would work remain unanswered. Dozens of supporters attended a rally Friday near Minneapolis City Hall, while opponents launched a canvassing campaign on the city's heavily Black north side.

ABANDONED SUV-BODIES

Suspect in deaths of 4 found in SUV surrenders in Arizona

MENOMONIE, Wis. (AP) — A suspect in the shooting deaths of four Minnesotans who were found in an abandoned SUV in Wisconsin has surrendered to authorities in Arizona. The Dunn County Sheriff's Office said Friday that 38-year-old Antoine Darnique Suggs turned himself in to police in Gilbert, Arizona. The sheriff's statement says Suggs had been living in the Phoenix area recently before traveling to Minnesota. Authorities say investigators have not interviewed Suggs, so they had no new information to release on a potential motive. Authorities said Thursday that Suggs was spotted meeting with one of the victims at a Minnesota bar the night before their bodies were found.

AP-US-ENBRIDGE-LINE-3

Enbridge ordered to pay $3M for Line 3 groundwater leak

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota regulators have ordered Enbridge to pay more than $3 million for allegedly violating state environmental law by piercing a groundwater aquifer during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline. The Department of Natural Resources says Enbridge, while working near Clearbrook in January, dug too deeply into the ground and pierced an aquifer, which resulted in a 24 million gallon groundwater leak and endangered nearby wetlands. Enbridge says its working with the DNR on a resolution. The company's 340-mile Line 3 pipeline replacement, which will carry Canadian crude across northern Minnesota to the company’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, is nearly complete.

AP-US-FEDERAL-PRISONS-TRANSGENDER-INMATES

Justice Department reviewing policies on transgender inmates

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Justice Department official tells The Associated Press that the department is reviewing its policies on housing transgender inmates in the federal prison system. Protections for transgender prisoners were rolled back in the Trump administration. The federal Bureau of Prisons’ policies for transgender inmates are in the spotlight after a leader of an Illinois anti-government militia group who identifies as transgender was sentenced this week to 53 years in prison for masterminding the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque. It's now up to a bureau council of psychology and correctional officials to determine where to house the militia group leader in a system of 122 federal prisons.

AP-US-DEREK-CHAUVIN-TEEN-CIVIL-RIGHTS

Chauvin pleads not guilty to violating teen's civil rights

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in George Floyd's death has pleaded not guilty to violating a teenager's civil rights in a separate case that involved a restraint similar to the one used on Floyd. Derek Chauvin was convicted this year on state charges of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's 2020 death. He’s also charged in federal court with violating Floyd’s civil rights. But another indictment against Chauvin alleges he carried out a similar act against a then-14-year-old boy in 2017. This indictment alleges Chauvin deprived the teenager, who is Black, of his rights when held his knee on the boy’s neck and upper back while the boy was prone, handcuffed and not resisting.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021