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Fargo Burger King
Fargo, North Dakota
CCA
November 17, 2005 In-Forum News
The suspected mastermind behind strip searches of employees at chain restaurants
and stores nationwide - including one at a north Fargo Burger King - faces
felony charges in Kentucky for a hoax there. Authorities arrested David Richard
Stewart of Panama City, Fla., after tracking a call from a Wal-Mart to Kentucky,
where an18-year-old McDonald's employee was sexually abused last year when an
assistant manager followed directions from a caller. Court papers state Stewart,
38, posed as "Officer Scott" when calling the McDonald's in Mount
Washington. He convinced the assistant manager to strip-search the woman, who
Scott said was suspected of stealing. The call resembles one made to the Fargo
Burger King on 19th Avenue North in January 1999. The caller, posing as
"Lieutenant Scott," convinced then-night manager Jason Allan Krein to
strip-search a 17-year-old female employee in his office. Krein later pleaded
guilty to disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and served 30 days in jail. In
Kentucky, the assistant manager and her boyfriend also face charges for the
McDonald's strip search. The assistant manager faces an unlawful imprisonment
charge while her boyfriend faces sexual abuse and sodomy crimes. Authorities
charged Stewart with impersonating a police officer and soliciting each of the
other crimes. The suspects all pleaded not guilty and face trials next month.
"It was a horrible, horrible ordeal that this young lady had to go
through," said Walt Sholar, the Bullitt County, Ky., attorney handling one
of the cases. Nationwide, Sholar said there are about 70 cases similar to the
ones in Kentucky and Fargo. Dozens of police departments have contacted Mount
Washington authorities convinced they arrested their suspect. "I have no
doubt in my mind that he's been the one behind all of them," Mount
Washington Police Detective Buddy Stump said. "For the sake of the rest of
the country, I hope and pray that it is." Stump broke the case open after
the city told him to find the caller. "We realized how many people have
been affected across the United States," he said. "I thought it was my
duty." With help from detectives in Massachusetts and Florida, Stump zeroed
in on a surveillance video at one of Panama City's three Wal-Marts. Once they
had the guy's image, they tracked Stewart to a private prison company where he
worked. Stewart remains free on bond until his trial. Calls to a phone listing
for David Stewart in Panama City went unanswered. In January 1999, a man called
six Fargo businesses- two Burger Kings, three Taco Bells and Payless Shoe Store
- in an attempt to convince managers to strip-search female employees. At the
north Fargo Burger King, Krein went along with the caller's demands, undressing
the employee and touching her legs to describe them to the caller. At Krein's
court hearing, East Central District Judge Georgia Dawson said "it's just
not conceivable" for Krein to think the search was proper. Fargo attorney
Adam Hamm, a prosecutor then, told Dawson the girl was traumatized for months.
"Of all the cases I prosecuted, this was one of the cases that burned
itself into my memory," Hamm said. "I have always wondered if I made
the right decision in charging Jason Krein with the charge." Hamm said he
prepared a more serious charge against Krein but balked at filing it because of
how state law defines sexual contact. "I knew I could prove the misdemeanor
and at some level he had to be held responsible," Hamm said. After the
Fargo strip search, the girl and her parents sued Burger King, owned by RED Inc.
in Grand Forks, N.D. The case was settled in mediation, according to those
familiar with the case. Details of the settlement are not public. Krein moved to
Wisconsin and could not be reached for comment. Fargo Lt. Tod Dahle recalls the
Burger King search because police tracked one call to a Florida pay phone and
the caller posed as a Fargo officer. After the incident, Fargo police received
reports of similar incidents in Grand Forks, Devils Lake, N.D., Watertown, S.D.,
and Virginia and Wisconsin. "Ever since that happened, I probably got a
call about that case every three months," he said. "Of course, I'd
learn it happened somewhere else." With Stewart's arrest, Dahle said Fargo
police will ask prosecutors to review the case to determine if charges can be
filed against Stewart. "I think to some degree, the people (managers)
wanted to participate," Dahle said. "I don't think we'll ever know how
many times this guy (Stewart) was told no."
New
England Prison
Dickinson, North Dakota
Misc
October 7, 2004 Bismarck
Tribune
A new women's prison in southwestern North Dakota is running $228,000
in deficits for its operations and medical costs, and it hopes to negotiate
higher state payments in the next two years, its administrator says. Medical
expenses alone for the New England prison, which now houses about 90 inmates,
have exceeded state payments by about $140,000 from November 2003 through
September, said Colby Braun, the prison's interim director. The
New England prison, which is a converted Roman Catholic boarding school and
convent, has a contract to house female inmates in North Dakota's prison system.
It began taking minimum-security prisoners last November, more than three months
late, and started accepting medium-security inmates only last August. The delays
prompted the prison's board of directors to demand that its administrator,
Norbert Sickler, take early retirement. Braun
told lawmakers on Wednesday that the prison has incurred $465,049 in inmate
medical expenses from November 2003 through September 2004, while getting
$324,997 in state payments. The contract says the New England prison will absorb
the first $50,000 of any medical cost overrun, with the state Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation making up any shortfall beyond that.
Pembina County
May 2, 2002
A privately run prison is not the answer to the state's inmate housing problems,
say consultants who are preparing a report on North Dakota's corrections system.
The consultants' comments, made Wednesday to members of the Legislature's
interim Corrections Committee, irritated Pembina County officials who have been
trying to rally support for a private prison in North Dakota's northeastern
corner. The company's president, Michael Fair, and vice president Karl Becker
told legislators Wednesday they did not believe a privately run prison would
save money for North Dakota taxpayers. 'I would suggest at this point, for a
system this size, it's only going to cost you,' Fair said. Becker said private
corrections companies would probably have more difficulty hiring North Dakota
workers because of the state's low unemployment rate and small labor pool. The
companies also count on having fewer workers and paying them less than state
employees make, but North Dakota's corrections system already has 'very, very
lean' staffing and relatively low pay, he said. 'I'd be very surprised if a
private facility could come in, with a comparable type of penitentiary, and save
significant dollars,' Becker said. Fair said a private company would ask the
state to guarantee a minimum number of inmates for its prison. Inmates who are
sick, or pose disciplinary problems, would be put back into the state
corrections system, he said. 'They get to operate with the cream of the crop,
every state they go to,' Fair said. 'Look at the security levels that private
operators run. They don't run any of the big, tough institutions.' Five years
ago, county officials lobbied former Gov. Ed Schafer to support a private prison
in Pembina County. Instead, Schafer advocated converting a building on the
grounds of the Jamestown state mental hospital into a prison. The Legislature
approved the remodeling project, and the James River Correctional Center now
holds more than 300 inmates. (The Bismarck Tribune)
Perry County
Correctional and Rehabilitation Center,
Uniontown, Alabama
Louisiana Correctional Services
June 3, 2010 The Dickinson Press
Four Alabama fugitives who were involved in a standoff near Gladstone that ended
a year ago today cost Stark County nearly $80,000, officials say. North Dakota
taxpayers will continue paying for them as they serve their prison sentences —
which vary from 7.5 years to 20 years. Stark County officials wonder if an
Alabama prison is to blame for the incident and whether they can make the prison
cover some of the costs. Ashton Mink and Joshua Southwick allegedly escaped from
Perry County Correctional Center in Alabama with the help of Mink’s wife,
Jacquelin, and his sister, Angela in May 2009. “Frankly, the escape was
well-planned and very well-executed,” said Richard Harbison, executive vice
president of LCS Correction Service Inc., which owns Perry County Correction
Center. “They knew exactly what they were doing and they were able to find the
weaknesses, so to speak.” He added they’re the only ones to ever escape from the
prison. The four then robbed Movie Gallery in Dickinson at gunpoint, shot at a
North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper and holed up in a garage at a farmstead near
Gladstone. After a standoff with police that lasted several hours, Southwick and
Angela Mink — who were reportedly dating — surrendered. Ashton and Jacquelin
Mink ran out the back of the garage they were hiding in handcuffed together and
fired at officers. Authorities believe they were trying to end their own lives
by getting officers to fire at them. Ashton Mink was shot by officers and
Jacquelin Mink then shot herself. Tom Henning, Stark County state’s attorney,
said the county is refusing to pay an additional $65,000 for Jacquelin Mink’s
hospital bill. He said that bill was from her stay at a Bismarck hospital after
the standoff, but before she was taken to jail. “These people were not arrested
and had not been in the custody of Stark County, and therefore we aren’t
responsible,” Henning said. Stark County has to pay for their medical costs
after they were arrested. Ashton Mink was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in
Dickinson, which did not bill the county for his treatment. “After they inquired
about the nature of the matter and were informed that we did not consider them
to be prisoners at the time of their injuries, nor were they in custody at the
time of their injuries, they did not inquire any further about payment,” Henning
said. Though he hasn’t begun researching whether or not it is possible, Henning
said he plans to pursue a lawsuit against LCS Correction Service. “The question
kind of looms about whether or not they could be found to have been negligent
and therefore responsible for foreseeable costs of their escape,” Henning said.
Harbison declined comment regarding the matter. However, he said security has
been enhanced at the prison since the escape, though he wouldn’t say how. “We’ve
changed a number of policies and of course a number of people were fired over
the incident,” Harbison said. Angela and Jacquelin Mink cut the power lines to
an electric fence around the prison during a storm so the men could escape,
according to a previous Press article. After the fugitives’ serve their time,
they will be taken back to Alabama to face prison escape charges, Harbison said.
Costs: Housing: $53,400 ($60 a day while going through court procedures)
Medical: $20,704 Hospital security: $3,945 Total: $78,049
June 24, 2009 Park Rapids Enterprise
Ashton Mink was arrested after a nearly 14-hour standoff June 6, on a ranch
south of Gladstone. Authorities say Mink and his wife, Jacquelin, were wounded
in an exchange of gunfire. Authorities say one of four Alabama fugitives has
been transferred from a Dickinson hospital to jail. Ashton Mink was arrested
after a nearly 14-hour standoff June 6, on a ranch south of Gladstone.
Authorities say Mink and his wife, Jacquelin, were wounded in an exchange of
gunfire. Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said Ashton Mink was released
Tuesday from a Dickinson hospital and taken to jail. He is awaiting a bail
hearing. Jacquelin Mink is hospitalized in Bismarck. The couple along with
Ashton Mink's sister Angela and Joshua Southwick, face charges of conspiracy to
commit murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. They are accused of robbing a
movie store in Dickinson and shooting at a Highway Patrol trooper. Authorities
say Southwick and Ashton Mink escaped from an Alabama prison in May and that
Angela and Jacquelin Mink helped them.
June 10, 2009 Athens News-Courier
Tom Henning, state’s attorney in Stark County, N.D., said it’s possible the
four people accused in an escape from an Alabama prison facility will remain
imprisoned in North Dakota for some time. If convicted, the group could serve
sentences there before being returned to Alabama to face charges of escape.
“Yes, they could end up spending jail time in North Dakota, presuming
convictions and at such time as we’re satisfied, then they’ll go back to the
demanding state,” he said. Joshua Southwick, who was convicted in the 2003
slaying of a Limestone County man, and Ashton Mink, convicted of attempted
murder in a stabbing during a home invasion in Madison, escaped from the Perry
County Correctional Facility in Uniontown, Ala., on May 25. U.S. Marshals say
Angela Mink, Ashton’s sister, and Jacquelin Mink, his wife, cut the fence from
the outside of the private prison facility to help the two get free. The four
were captured in Gladstone, N.D., Saturday during a video store robbery.
Southwick and Angela gave themselves up but Ashton and Jacquelin held officers
at bay for 14 hours. They were shot in the process. Ashton is under armed guard
at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center in Dickinson, N.D. His wife is under
armed guard at St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, N.D., Henning said. “I
have no idea when they will be able to go to court,” he said. “I’d say at least
a month.” In the meantime, Southwick and Angela Mink are being held at Southwest
Multi-County Correctional Facility, each charged with criminal conspiracy to
commit robbery, which carries a 10-year maximum sentence. “It’s entirely likely
there will be more charges” stemming from the standoff and shootout, Henning
said.
June 6, 2009 KFYR TV
Four of America's Most Wanted fugitives were arrested Saturday in western
North Dakota. The group started out in Alabama earlier in the week and came to
North Dakota where police say they went on a crime spree. By Saturday night, two
of the suspects were recovering in a Dickinson-area hospital after being shot by
police after a standoff in Gladstone. That was the culmination of a series of
crimes that started with a robbery Friday night in Dickinson and included shots
being fired at a North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper during a chase. Let's take
you back a week and set the stage that led to these events. Police had been
looking for 26-year-old Joshua Southwick, and 22-year-old Ashton Mink since they
escaped from an Alabama prison on Memorial Day. Mink was serving a 20-year
sentence for 1st degree assault. Southwick was serving a life sentence for
murder and 1st degree burglary. Authorities say they escaped prison in Alabama
by wearing kitchen workers` uniforms The pair allegedly fled through holes that
were cut out of the prison fence by Ashton Mink's wife, Jacquelin, and sister
Angela Mink. Somewhere along the way, all four made it to North Dakota. The
trouble in North Dakota started in Dickinson Friday night around 11:00, when the
suspects, two men and two women, robbed a movie rental store. The foursome fled,
and a Highway Patrol trooper noticed a suspicious car speeding away. The trooper
followed the car onto I-94, and that's when passenger in the suspects` car fired
at the trooper. At least one bullet went into the trooper's car. The fleeing car
continued east to Gladstone prompting the Highway Patrol to lock down the small
town. Authorities blocked off a two-mile section of road leading into town.
Police kept an eye on things during as residents were notified of the threat
through a reverse 911 system. Gladstone resident Kim Hetzel says, "After we got
the automated phone call early this morning, get up, and lock the doors, and
kinda just watch out." Authorities found the suspects after the owner of a
farmstead noticed the four were staking out in his detached garage. Stark County
sheriff Clarence Tuhy says, "They're from the Alabama area; the two males are
escapees from a private prison in the Alabama area which were aided in escape by
the two females." The perps took refuge in the farmstead's garage as more than a
half dozen agencies flocked to the area. About 12 hours later Tuhy says, "A male
and a female came out giving up peacefully at which time a male and female came
out a side door firing at officers." Officers then fired back, striking both
Ashton Mink and his wife, Jacquelin. The couple is being treated at an area
hospital. So far, there's no word on the conditions of the two suspects who were
shot. No officers were injured, and Joshua Southwick and Angela Mink were taken
into custody. "Any time no officers get injured is a good thing," notes Tuhy.
But while no officers or residents were hurt physically, it will take a long
time for the emotional scars of this almost surreal crime to heal.
Prairie
Correctional Facility
Appleton, Minnesota
CCA/TransCor
December 26, 2009 AP
The closing of a private prison that once housed dozens of North Dakota
inmates shouldn't affect the state's management of its prisoners, North Dakota's
corrections director says. The Prairie Correctional Facility at Appleton, Minn.,
is shutting down Feb. 1. The prison, which is capable of holding about 1,600
inmates, is about 150 miles southeast of Fargo. Its owner, Corrections Corp. of
America, which is based in Nashville, Tenn., said there has been much less
demand for prison space from the states of Minnesota and Washington, the
lockup's two primary customers. North Dakota's Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation used the Appleton prison for several years to relieve
overcrowding problems in North Dakota's system. However, the state hasn't sent
prisoners to Appleton since the spring of 2006, said Leann Bertsch, the agency's
director. The private prison housed more than 40 North Dakota inmates that year.
January 25, 2006 AP
A private Minnesota prison is giving North Dakota more time to find space for
inmates who have been housed there. The Appleton prison, operated by Corrections
Corporation of America, notified North Dakota in November that it no longer had
room for North Dakota prisoners. As of early this week, the state still had 48
prisoners in Appleton, which is more than 300 miles from Bismarck. North Dakota
warden Tim Schuetzle said the Appleton prison has given North Dakota until the
end of March to find another place for them. CCA offered to take some prisoners
to another prison it operates in Colorado for the same price per day, per inmate
- $54, Schuetzle said. But the Colorado lockup is about twice as far from
Bismarck as the Minnesota prison, and the Colorado prison will only take 27
North Dakota prisoners, he said.
December 15, 2005 Bismarck Tribune
Until everyone sentenced by the state justice system can serve their prison time
in facilities in North Dakota, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
will face the quandary of where to place all the inmates. The problem was
highlighted by the decision made by Corrections Corporation of America that its
privately owned, run-for-profit prison in Appleton, Minn., soon will not take
North Dakota prisoners, and the ones already there will have to go elsewhere.
CCA's decision about the Appleton prison was prompted by its agreement with the
state of Minnesota to give priority to that state's needs, and Minnesota has a
growing surfeit of inmates. But CCA has made an offer to the North Dakota prison
administration: The company will take some overflow prisoners into one of its
many other prisons, this one located in Burlington, Colo. It is a limited
solution, not an ideal one. The mileage from North Dakota to eastern Colorado is
double that to southwestern Minnesota. That fact plays out in staff time and
other costs for transporting prisoners, a fact noted by Director of Prisons and
penitentiary Warden Tim Schuetzle. He talks about the cost and the logistics of
DOCR staff doing transportation because the department is leery of using
TransCor, a company owned by CCA that specializes in the activity. It was
TransCor that misplaced notorious prisoner Kyle Bell some years ago.
December 6, 2005 AP
A private prison in Minnesota can no longer take inmates from North Dakota, the
North Dakota prison warden says. Warden Tim Schuetzle said the Prairie
Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minn., is filling up with Minnesota inmates
and can no longer house North Dakota prisoners. "Sometime over the next
month or so we'll be moving the North Dakota inmates out of Appleton," he
said. "That creates problems for us because we don't have any space at our
prisons here." He said arrangements are being made to house prisoners at
another privately run prison in Burlington, Colo. "But it's twice as far
for us to transport inmates so it's more expensive," Schuetzle said.
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