2011 News Archives
Frequent felon accused of sticking Minn. car sellers with bogus check. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged a repeat offender with one count each of Offering a Forged Check, Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Theft by Swindle in connection with a sale of a truck. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, December 2, 2011).
Seller beware! Car bought with fake check prompts warning from Ramsey County prosecutor.
The Ramsey County attorney's office wants sellers to take extra precautions when dealing with private buyers after a recent truck sale gone bad. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, December 2, 2011).
Day of Remembrance for Victims of Domestic Violence - Friday, October 21 at 10:00 a.m. - St. Paul City Hall/Courthouse.
Join the City of St. Paul, Ramsey County and domestic abuse advocates from across our community as we honor the memories of the Minnesota women and children who have died due to domestic violence. Click here for video of the event.
10 busted in St. Paul selling stolen cars for scrap. Choi and St. Paul Police Chief Tom Smith are urging lawmakers to tighten a loophole in state law, and make it mandatory that a person provide a title or proof of ownership before a car can be sold for scrap. Watch KARE 11's news story here. (KARE 11, Minneapolis, MN, August 18, 2011).
10 people charged in auto theft ring: The Ramsey County Attorney says a three-month investigation by St. Paul police into an auto theft ring has resulted in charges against 10 people. Watch KSTP's story here. (KSTP 5 Eyewitness News, St. Paul, MN, August 17, 2011).
10 people to be charged in Twin Cities auto theft ring. Authorities in St. Paul say they've cracked a ring of auto thieves that were snatching cars off the street and selling them at a metal salvage operation. Listen to MPR's story here. (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, MN, August 17, 2011).
10 accused in Ramsey County of stealing cars for scrap. They were among more than 50 cars that had been stolen in St. Paul and sold for scrap in the past several months, often crushed just hours after they were whisked off city streets, private lots and driveways. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, August 18, 2011).
10 charged with stealing 50 vehicles in St. Paul for scrap. "The message I want to be heard loud and clear is that auto theft is a high priority of our office, and that car thieves will be held accountable in Ramsey County," said Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, August 17, 2011).
Police announce car theft metal scrapping bust in St. Paul: Unmarked tow trucks involved in theft, scrapping. Police found three different schemes during their investigation: the thieves used "spotters" to identify vehicles to steal; tow truck drivers stole vehicles directly off streets or parking lots; thieves stole vehicles and drove them straight to the scrap yard. (Fox News, St. Paul, MN, August 17, 2011).
Ramsey County officials struggle to maintain services amid steadily shrinking budgets. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi has seen the average time it takes to charge a domestic-abuse case drop from seven business days in 2009 to a day in 2010, just by combining the review and charging of cases into a single desk. Choi said those kinds of reorganizations save time, encourage a victim's cooperation with the system and, hopefully, save lives. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, August 8, 2011).
Car Stolen. Car Found. Now the Bad News. Reuben Rosario’s article on a stolen car that was sold for scrap metal without proof of ownership. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, July 29, 2011).
New Program Calls for Longer Sentences for Dangerous, Repeat Criminals. According to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, research shows that a large percentage of all felony crimes are committed by a small percentage of criminals (KSTP, St. Paul, MN, June 25, 2011).
County Attorney Choi Says Career Criminals May Expect Harsher Sentences. Choi announces he will reallocate resources to work with law enforcement to get dangerous and repeat offenders off the streets and out of the neighborhoods (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, June 25, 2011).
Dangerous and Repeat Offenders Program (DROP). Flanked by law enforcement, Choi announces an initiative dubbed DROP that will take advantage of state laws on dangerous and repeat offenders to send them to prison under enhanced penalties after a pattern of criminal behavior is established in the Courts (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, June 25, 2011).
Watch the video of County Attorney Choi's speech given at the Saint Paul Police Memorial Day Service on May 18, 2011 or click here to read it.
The Saint Paul Police Department Held Its 49th Annual Memorial Day Service in an outdoor ceremony at Mears Park earlier today to honor the thirty-one Saint Paul Police Officers that have been killed in the line of duty (KSTP, St. Paul, MN, May 18, 2011).
Protect Teen Victims in Sex Trafficking. Under current laws, a child involved in prostitution can be protected by the state's child protection statutes or treated as criminal and charged with a crime (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, April 10, 2011).
Supreme Court Ruling May Limit Consensual Sex Claims in Rape Cases. A ruling by Minnesota Supreme Court in a Ramsey County case may make it easier to convict defendants accused of rape who argue that the sex was consensual (Pioneer Press, Saint Paul, MN, March 24,2011).
Minnesota High Court Allows Experts in Some Rape Cases. Specifically, some victims might delay reporting a rape, or there might be no physical evidence of a sexual assault. The court record shows many people wrongly believe a rape victim would fight, be severely injured, or go to authorities immediately, and expert testimony on typical victim behavior could help jurors understand, the justices said (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, MN, March 24, 2011).
Decision Could Ease Way to Rape Conviction. "With this decision, we can educate jurors about some of the misconceptions [people] might have about why victims act the way they do when something like this happens to them," says Ramsey County Attorney John Choi (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, March 24, 2011).
Twin Cities Prosecutor to Lead Criminal Division. Veteran prosecutor Richard Dusterhoft has been named head of the Criminal Division of the Ramsey County Attorney's Office (Pioneer Press, Saint Paul, MN, March 17, 2011).
Shoreview - Based Property Developer Convicted on Four of Five Sex Assaults. A Shoreview man accused of sexually assaulting five women was convicted of four counts of criminal sexual conduct. 'It is not easy for victims of sexual assaults to come forward and report them under any circumstances." Choi says (Press Publications, Shoreview, MN, March 15, 2011).
Project Reaches Out to St. Paul's Young Black Men. A pilot program that grew out of a meeting with then-City Attorney John Choi, the local NAACP, a mayoral representative, and the Community and Justice Project at the University of St. Thomas started to help at-risk youth learn work and life skills (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, March 8, 2011).
Editorial: Sexually Exploited Kids are Victims by Jeff Bauer, Director of Public Policy for the Family Partnership (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, March 6, 2011).
Police, Advocates an Effective Team for Helping Domestic Abuse Victims: A real life assessment on the effectiveness of the Blueprint for Safety (Minnesota Public Radio, Saint Paul, MN, March 1, 2011).
Prosecutors Change Tactic in Child Prostitution Cases: Child prosecutes won't face criminal charges under a new policy announced Friday by all top prosecutors from across the Twin Cities metro-area(Minnesota Public Radio, Saint Paul, MN, February 25, 2011).
Teen Prostitutes Get New Status: County prosecutors from across the metro said Friday that they were overhauling their policies to ensure that juveniles who are prostituted are treated as crime victims instead of criminals, even as some areas see an uptick in teen prostitution (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, February 26, 2011).
Prosecutors take new approach to juveniles in prostitution cases. Instead, Choi says, the child will be referred to Ramsey County's Runaway Intervention Program. If the child does not meet the criteria for that program, he or she will be referred to the county attorney's Child Protection Unit or other agencies (Pioneer Press, Saint Paul, MN, February 25, 2011).
Joint Effort Seeks to File More Charges: A new Ramsey County Attorney program will pair prosecutors and investigators on select cases to bring them to court (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, January 18, 2011).
Ramsey County's 'second look' plan aimed at helping charge more cases: Newly sworn-in Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announces a collaboration Tuesday between prosecutors and area police agencies to charge cases that are initially declined by prosecution (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, January 18, 2011).
Choi is 1st Korean-American County Attorney in US: John Choi has been sworn in as Ramsey County Attorney, becoming the first Asian-American county attorney in Minnesota (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, MN January 4, 2011).
Choi is 1st Korean-American County Attorney in US: After his swearing-in on Tuesday, Choi said his family came to the U.S. from South Korea in 1973, when he was 3 years old (KARE11, Saint Paul, MN, January 4, 2011).
Choi is 1st Korean-American County Attorney in US: He says his family lived in low-income housing in Saint Paul...They came to the U.S. looking for a better life, and never thought their son would be elected county attorney." He says it shows "what a great country this is" (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN, January 4, 2011).
Choi's Focus: 'To Get Kids on the Right Track': The new Ramsey County Attorney makes history as first Korean-American to hold such a post (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN, January 4, 2011).
Sheriff, County Attorney Take Oaths in Ramsey County: John Choi has been sworn in as Ramsey County Attorney and becomes the first Asian-American county attorney in Minnesota and the first Korean-American county attorney in the nation (CBS Minnesota, January 4, 2011).
County Attorneys Make Changes: Newly elected Ramsey County Attorney John Choi plans to divide the prosecution of adult and juvenile criminal cases, which have been merged since 1995. Choi hopes the move will "elevate the profile and the importance" of the work done by the juvenile division, which also handles truancy and youth-intervention programs (Pioneer Press, January 2, 2011).
Farewell to Gaertner; Welcome Choi: Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner ends her long and successful tenure as a public leader in the criminal justice system. She passes the reigns to former St. Paul City Attorney John J. Choi after a resounding November election victory (Pioneer Press, January 1, 2011).