The first of two men convicted in the murder of 22-year-old Alex Becker, who was shot as he returned to his St. Paul home from work, received a 30-year sentence Friday. Jurors convicted Detwan Cortell Allen, now 20, of St. Paul, in December of aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder in the killing of Becker. Prosecutors argued he was ambushed in an apparent attempted robbery by Allen and two accomplices. Alex Becker (Courtesy of Hidy Hammarsten) The prosecution had argued for the maximum sentence allowed under state sentencing guidelines, 367 months, which is what Judge Paul Yang ..read more

The mother of an 8-month-old boy who died of a fentanyl overdose at a Roseville hotel in 2022 has been charged with manslaughter. Wynona Ann Littlewolf, 29, was charged by warrant Thursday in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of second-degree manslaughter in connection with her son’s death. Littlewolf, who is currently incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Shakopee on a second-degree burglary conviction out of Cass County, was listed as a resident of Cass Lake, Minn. Wynona Ann Littlewolf (Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Corrections) According to Thursday ..read more

St. Paul police have made an arrest in a break-in and sexual assault at a home in the Macalester-Groveland area last week, the department announced Thursday. A woman told police she was sleeping when she heard someone pounding on the side door and a man she didn’t know forced entry into her home in the 300 block of South Snelling Avenue on April 15. The man robbed the woman of money, pulled out a weapon and sexually assaulted her, police said at the time. He ran away and she called 911 just before 4:30 a.m. The woman was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Police are holding a press conference ..read more

An 18-year-old Rosemount man now faces an upgraded charge of manslaughter for killing a Vietnam vet with a punch at Harriet Island Regional Park in late January. Wyatt Daniel Doerfler admitted to police that he punched Thomas Dunne in the face after confronting the 76-year-old in a parking lot on Jan. 28, according to the original juvenile petition filed Jan. 30 and charging the then 17-year-old with first-degree assault causing great bodily harm. Thomas Dunne, 76, of St. Paul, died Feb. 23, 2024, at Regions Hospital. (Courtesy of Helen Broderick) At Regions Hospital, Dunne had emergency surge ..read more

A St. Paul woman is desperate to get her dog back after she was pushed down and robbed of her pet outside her home. Two young men approached the woman in the Payne-Phalen area about 4 p.m. Wednesday and asked her about her dog, said Alyssa Arcand, a St. Paul police spokeswoman. They then pushed the woman down and took the dog, whose name is Clementine. It happened in the area of Westminster Street and York Avenue. Clementine, who is also known as “Tiny Mae,” is a French bulldog-Boston terrier mix. She is mostly black with a white chest, and one white paw/leg. She weighs about 25 pounds and is ..read more

A Blaine man was sentenced Wednesday to eight months in jail and five years of probation for driving more than 100 mph while drunk and crashing into an SUV last fall in St. Anthony, seriously injuring the 21-year-old driver and her young brother. Matthew Sukhram, 19, pleaded guilty Feb. 21 in Ramsey County District Court to two counts of criminal vehicular operation while under the influence of alcohol — one for causing great-bodily harm, the other for causing substantial bodily harm — in connection with the Sept. 16 crash at Minnesota 88 and 29th Avenue Northeast. Soua Vang and her 10-year-ol ..read more

The city of Lakeville is one step closer to being home to a multi-million dollar public safety training facility for Dakota County law enforcement, thanks to $800,000 in federal funding. The latest round of funding for the training facility was announced Monday by U.S. Rep. Angie Craig. Plans for the training facility include physical and virtual training areas, a firing range, armory, a tactical training room and classrooms. The training facility could cost as much as $24 million, but the city is hoping to keep the price tag around $14-$20 million, said Lakeville City Administrator Justin Mil ..read more

A 75-year-old resident of Good Life Senior Living in Hugo died 19 days after she was pushed by another resident at the assisted-living center and officials are calling it a homicide, according to court documents. Linda S. Steen was pushed out of a doorway March 11 and suffered a broken hip, according to an application for a search warrant filed by Detective Anthony Jaring of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Steen was put in hospice care and died on March 30. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner “watched video of the suspect pushing Steen, reviewed medical records and because of the short ..read more

The daughter of a 65-year-old man who she says was deaf in one ear and couldn’t understand police has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against St. Paul police and the city after an officer shot him last year. The action comes a month after prosecutors announced Officer Abdirahmin Dahir’s use of deadly force against Yia Xiong was “objectively reasonable to stop the deadly threat posed” by Xiong, who they said was armed with a 12-inch knife, and was legal under Minnesota law. The lawsuit was filed by Yia Xiong’s daughter, Mai Tong Xiong. She is represented by Farrar & Ball, a Houston, Texas-ba ..read more

By ERIC TUCKER (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court hears arguments Thursday over whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. It’s a historic day for the court, with the justices having an opportunity to decide once and for all whether former presidents can be prosecuted for official acts they take while in the White House. But between a decades-old court case about Richard Nixon, and an obscure constitutional provision about presidential impeachments, there are likely to be so ..read more