Animal terrorism charge ... Pizza garb aids robbery ... Somali recruitment case ... more
AROUND THE REGION: Animal terrorism charge ... Pizza garb aids robbery ... Somali recruitment case ... more
A Minneapolis man has been indicted on animal terrorism charges in Iowa, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. The indictment charges Scott Ryan DeMuth with one count of conspiring to commit animal enterprise terrorism and cause economic damage exceeding $10,000. It said the acts DeMuth is accused of committing occurred between Nov. 9, 2004, and Nov. 20, 2004.Animal terrorism charge
A Minneapolis man has been indicted on animal terrorism charges in Iowa, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
The indictment charges Scott Ryan DeMuth with one count of conspiring to commit animal enterprise terrorism and cause economic damage exceeding $10,000. It said the acts DeMuth is accused of committing occurred between Nov. 9, 2004, and Nov. 20, 2004.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, and the indictment does not specify the alleged incident, but during that same period, there was a break-in at an animal research lab at the University of Iowa, in Johnson County.
During the break-in at Spence Laboratories and Seashore Hall, vandals released pigeons and more than 300 rats and mice. They also dumped chemicals on data and damaged 40 computers. Damage was estimated at more than $450,000.
An e-mail sent by someone claiming to be from the Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the break-in. DeMuth is a member of EWOK, or Earth Warriors are OK!, a Minnesota-based group that supports animal rights and environmental activists who have been arrested as a result of what they call Green Scare tactics — apparent attempts by the government to stamp out the radical environmental movement.
Pizza uniform aids robbery
A person dressed as a pizza delivery person may have been among the perpetrators of a home invasion/robbery in south Moorhead on Nov. 8 that briefly caused a lockdown at Minnesota State University-Moorhead, court records show.
Police said Thursday one person has been arrested in the case, one suspect is being sought, and others may ultimately be arrested.
According to documents filed in Clay County District Court: Four people showed up at the door of an apartment. A resident looked through the peephole and saw someone dressed as a pizza delivery person.
As the resident opened the door, three people wearing ski masks forced their way in. One was armed with a shotgun, another with a handgun and the third with a knife. The intruders forced the resident and a roommate to the ground and demanded cash and “weed.”
The residents said they didn’t have cash or drugs, and after searching the apartment. the three masked intruders left.
At that point, the apparent pizza delivery person stated he was getting out and ran from the apartment. Police later located a uniform from a well-known pizza company, a ball cap and a pizza carrier abandoned about a block from the apartment building.
Investigators viewed video from a Kmart store taken about two hours before the robbery that showed a group of four men entering the store together.
Two of the men purchased ski masks, and a third purchased a black hooded sweatshirt. The fourth man seen in the video resembled the victims’ description of the pizza delivery person.
The two men who bought masks were identified as John Jose Kukert Jr., 21, Fargo, and Joshua Charles Lowe, 30, Fargo.
Somali recruitment case
A St. Anthony, Minn., man has been indicted on terrorism-related charges in the federal investigation into the departures of young Somali men who left Minnesota to fight with a terror group in Somalia, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
Omer Abdi Mohamed, 24, is the seventh person to face charges in the ongoing investigation. He was indicted this week on counts of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure.
The indictment suggests that as part of the conspiracy, Mohamed — also known as Brother Omer or Galeyr — helped some of the men travel to Somalia.
Mohamed was arrested at his house Thursday morning without incident and made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis that afternoon.
As many as 20 young Somali men have left the Twin Cities over the past two years for Somalia and are believed to have joined the terror group al-Shabab. At least three have died.
Farmer cited in truck spill
Authorities said a Minnesota farmer has been cited for allowing a byproduct from the ethanol plant near Casselton, N.D., to leak from his truck along Interstate 94.
The Highway Patrol said the violation carries a $20 fine.
Charles McCarthy, Ulen, Minn., told troopers he was hauling the material for use as cattle feed to his farm and did not realize the end gate on his trailer was open. The spill made the interstate slippery, and a car and a minivan collided. Four people suffered minor injuries.
The state Department of Transportation is expected to send McCarthy a bill for clearing and sanding I-94
Jamestown recreation center
Organizers of a community recreation center in Jamestown, N.D., are progressing in their effort to build a facility that would include tennis courts, gymnastic equipment, room for a YMCA and even a water park.
Brainstorming for what’s being called the Two Rivers Activity Center began two years ago in an effort to expand the city’s YMCA, even making room to add a child care program, said Mark Olson, the organization’s executive director.
“The facility at this point is not meeting everyone’s needs,” he said, adding the current YMCA has outgrown its site on the Jamestown College campus.
Additionally, the city pool is located there, and when the city’s lease with the college expires, it will likely need a new home, said Doug Hogan, a director with the city’s parks department.
Leaders are looking to build the facility on land adjacent to Jamestown High School, which would leave room for a water park. And, if space allows, the YMCA seeks to add infants and toddlers to its child care programs.
Five entities – including the YMCA, school district, parks department and athletic associations – allocated money to study the need for a center. And in April, residents said in a citywide survey they are looking for more activities.
Officials point to similarly sized Dickinson in western North Dakota which built a community recreation center in 2004. There, organizers projected 1,700 annual memberships. However, 4,200 members are enrolled this year, said James Kramer, a director of the city’s parks department.
Wal-Mart aids food bank
A newly donated $85,000 refrigerator truck will help the Great Plains Food Bank meet growing demand for food assistance, an official said.
“There’s more need, and we’re getting help to meet it,” said Steve Sellent, program director for the Fargo-based Great Plains Food Bank.
Wal-Mart, in a ceremony Thursday in Fargo, donated the $85,000 truck, along with 12 pallets of food.
The truck will end up in Bismarck, where the Great Plains Food Bank will use it to deliver surplus food.
The truck now used in Bismarck by the Great Plains Food Bank will be used in other communities across the state for food recovery and distribution.
Great Plains Food Bank, a program of Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, recovers surplus food and groceries, which it delivers to 235 food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and other charitable feeding programs statewide.
Great Plains Food Bank has seen a 19 percent increase in the number of visits to food shelves in the first three quarters of the year, Sellent said.
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