Court news: Detroit Lakes man gets 15 months for police chase

Richard Joseph McDonald, 50, of Detroit Lakes, has been sentenced in Becker County District Court for felony fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.

According to court records, on Sept. 17, 2018, a White Earth tribal police officer saw a 2003 Cadillac CTS traveling westbound on County Road 34, White Earth.

The officer saw the vehicle did not have a front or rear license plate, and he was unable to read a paper displayed in the back window. The vehicle turned northbound onto County Road 21, which is a posted 15 mph zone in that area.

The officer tried to pull McDonald over, but he sped away, reaching speeds of 67 mph before turning onto Martins Lane and abruptly stopped on that road. The driver’s door opened, and McDonald fled on foot. With the help of a K9 dog, he was tracked into the woods and arrested. McDonald’s driver’s license had been canceled due to being potentially harmful to public safety, and he told the officer he ran because if he got caught driving again, he would go back to prison.

On Nov. 16, District Judge Gretchen Thilmony sentenced McDonald to 15 months in prison at St. Cloud, to be served concurrently with another case. He was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus $1,165 in court fees.

A gross misdemeanor charge of driving after cancellation, and a misdemeanor charge of fleeing on foot, were dropped in a plea agreement.

Jason Lee Peterson, 40, of Audubon has been sentenced in Becker County District Court for gross misdemeanor fifth-degree assault.

A felony charge of second-degree assault was dropped in a plea agreement.

According to court records, on Aug. 9, Peterson drove away from a gas station in Audubon to chase a man in another vehicle. He caught up to it and rear-ended it with the man inside. A witness saw the crash and said there were multiple collisions. A short time later, the vehicles went down the street and collided again. Becker County deputies observed significant damage to the vehicles. The man who was being pursued said he was trying to get back to the gas station to have someone call 911. Peterson was arrested and taken to jail.

On Nov. 18, District Judge Jay Carlson sentenced Peterson to 365 days in jail, with 348 days stayed two years and credit for 17 days served. He was fined $500 fine plus $650 in court fees and was placed on unsupervised probation for two years.

Brady Jay Moran, 28, of Detroit Lakes has been sentenced in Becker County District Court for felony fifth-degree controlled substance crime.

According to court records, on Sept. 20, at about 6:48 a.m., deputies responded to a report of a person acting strangely in a vehicle.

A witness said the driver took off at a high rate of speed towards County Road 54, going into the ditch, hitting a mailbox, then driving all over the road. The witness told dispatch he was going to follow the vehicle until deputies arrived. The driver then stopped in the middle of the road on 320th Avenue and tried to “rip off his bumper,” according to the criminal complaint.

Law enforcement located the vehicle on Frazee Road in Becker County and identified the driver as Moran.

As deputies spoke to Moran, one observed a clear baggie with a white crystal-like substance on the driver’s side floor, which later field tested as 1.09 grams of methamphetamine, with packaging.

On Nov. 17, District Judge Gretchen Thilmony sentenced Moran to 13 months in prison at St. Cloud, stayed five years. He was ordered to serve 34 days in jail, with credit for 34 days served.

He was ordered to pay $1,150 in court fees, and was ordered to get a a chemical dependency evaluation and follow the recommendations, including aftercare. He was placed on supervised probation for five years.

Shawn Anthony Mosca, 43, of Detroit Lakes has been sentenced in Becker County District Court for felony theft. A second felony theft charge was dropped in a plea agreement.

According to court records, on Nov. 6, 2020, a man reported to the Becker County Sheriff’s Office that people had come onto his property without permission and had removed vehicle parts. He said the suspects had taken down a “no trespassing” sign on the property.

Later that day, the man said he was at the end of the driveway at the property, and there was an unknown vehicle there with the tailgate open. Officers arrived and drove up to the parked vehicle. Mosca and another man were at the scene. The other man admitted they had taken three or four catalytic converters earlier, and said they had already sold vehicle parts for $300 to $400.

Further investigation revealed a document from Lakes Iron and Metal Sales with Mosca’s name on it and noted a sale of $350. The two admitted that a third person was with them the previous day who received $105 for a sale at Lakes Iron and Metal Sales. The value of the stolen parts was estimated at over $1,000.

Mosca was convicted of felony theft of a motor vehicle in 2018.

On Nov. 17, District Judge Jay Carlson sentenced Mosca to 17 months in prison at St. Cloud, stayed five years. He was ordered to serve 46 days in jail, with credit for 46 days served.

He was fined $500 plus $650 in court fees, and was ordered to pay restitution and get a a chemical dependency evaluation and follow the recommendations, including aftercare. He was placed on supervised probation for five years.

Mosca was also sentenced for felony financial transaction card fraud.

According to court records, Walmart reports indicated that Mosca used a stolen credit card for two transactions totaling over $205.

He was pulled over prior to being arrested and a small, plastic bag containing about half-gram of meth was found on the back corner of the driver’s seat.

He was previously convicted of felony theft in 2018 and a fifth-degree drug charge in 2017.

On the fraud charge, he was sentenced to 19 months in prison at St. Cloud, stayed five years. He was fined $500 plus $650 in court fees, and ordered to pay about $700 in restitution. The sentence is to be served concurrently with two other cases. A felony fifth-degree drug charge was dropped in a plea agreement.

Ashley Faye LaFriniere, 28, of Mahnomen has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony fifth-degree controlled substance crime. According to court records, on July 28, 2021, the car she was driving in was pulled over by a White Earth police officer because the driver was known to have a revoked driver’s license. LaFriniere was wanted on active warrants.

A small plastic baggie containing a grey powdery substance was found behind the passenger seat, and it field-tested positive for heroin.

On Nov. 16 a summons was issued for LaFriniere to appear in court at a later, unspecified date