Court news: Predatory offender gets 21 months for not registering new address

Brian Keith James, 52, of Lakefield, Minn., has been sentenced in Becker County District Court on a felony charge of violating the predatory offender registration law.

According to court records, between March 3 and March 17 in Detroit Lakes, police received numerous calls of service involving James. His registered address is in Lakefield, but a woman there said she had not seen him since Feb. 20, when he left for detox. He was previously convicted of violating the predatory offender registration law in 2006 and 2008.

On Oct. 30, District Judge Jay Carlson sentenced him to 21 months in prison at St. Cloud, and ordered him to pay a $50 fine and $200 in court fees.

Steffan William Kytonen, 33, of Detroit Lakes, has been sentenced in Becker County District Court on a felony charge possessing an explosive device.

According to court records, at 11:45 p.m. Aug. 27, 2019, Kytonen was pulled over in his 2003 BMW by a Detroit Lakes police officer for an equipment violation.

Kytonen admitted his license was revoked. The license plate tabs belonged to another vehicle that had been reported stolen. He was arrested and the BMW was towed and searched.

A pipe-like device with a wick, plastic end caps secured with glue, and something inside it was found in the truck, according to the criminal complaint. An officer with the Red River Regional Bomb Squad spoke to a Detroit Lakes officer and told him it was a pipe bomb.

Kytonen later said it was a “firecracker” that had been given to him for his birthday.

On Oct. 30, District Judge Jay Carlson issued a stay of adjudication and continued the case.

Kytonen was ordered to serve 148 days in jail, with credit for 148 days served. He was fined $500, plus $650 in court fees, and was ordered to get a chemical dependency evaluation and follow the recommendations, including aftercare. He was placed on supervised probation for five years.

In a separate case, Kytonen was also sentenced for felony receiving stolen property.

On May 19, he was caught driving a gold-colored Chevy Silverado that had been stolen from the Becker Soil and Water Conservation District. It had been equipped with license plates stolen in Otter Tail County.

Kytonen was fined $300 plus $165 in court fees, and ordered to pay $10,542 in restitution. Two lesser charges were dropped in a plea agreement.

Mohamed Hussein Odawa, 22, of Pelican Rapids, has been sentenced in Becker County District Court on a felony charge of writing dishonored checks.

According to court records, between March 7 and April 22, 2019, Odawa wrote bad checks totaling $1,039 at the Casey’s General Store in Detroit Lakes, Park Rapids, Grand Rapids and Fergus Falls. He failed to make good on the checks when requested, and admitted to a Grand Rapids police officer that his checking account had been closed and he had written out the checks anyway.

On Oct. 29, District Judge Michael Fritz stayed imposition of sentence and placed him on supervised probation for five years.

Odawa was ordered to serve 10 days in jail, with credit for five days served. He can serve the remaining time in jail or on electronic home monitoring at his own expense. He was fined $250, plus $325 in court fees, and was ordered to pay $1,609 in restitution to Casey’s.

Dewaye Michael Steward, 33, of rural Ottertail, has been sentenced in Becker County District Court on a felony charge of fifth-degree controlled substance crime.

According to court records, on Oct. 24, 2019, the white Dodge pickup truck was pulled over in Becker county because it matched the description of a truck involving an incident with a gun. A search of the truck revealed a meth pipe and a baggie containing 1.37 grams of meth, with packaging. A black handgun, which turned out to be a CO2 air pistol, was found under the passenger seat.

On Oct. 29, District Judge Michael Fritz issued a stay of adjudication and continued the case.

Steward was ordered to serve 45 days in jail, with credit for eight days served. He can serve the remaining time on electronic home monitoring at his own expense. He was fined $600, plus $675 in court fees, and was ordered to get a diagnostic assessment and a chemical dependency evaluation and follow the recommendations, including aftercare. Steward was placed on supervised probation for five years.

On a separate felony charge of fifth-degree controlled substance crime, he was fined $600 plus $60 in court fees, and ordered to serve 45 days in jail, concurrently with the first charge. In this case, he was pulled over for erratic driving on Dec. 28, 2019, in Detroit Lakes, and police found a meth pipe and 2.2 grams of meth in his vehicle. Fritz issued a stay of adjudication and continued the case.

Thayian Christopher Greenfeather, 17, of Ponsford has been sentenced in Becker County Juvenile Court for felony car theft.

According to court records, Greenfeather stole a black Chevy Suburban from a Moorhead auto dealership in late June, after seeing the keys in the center console and finding the vehicle unlocked. He told officers he drove it home to Becker County.

Greenfeather was a passenger in the Suburban on June 28 when it was involved in an extensive police chase in the Pine Point area.

On Sept. 28, District Judge Gretchen Thilmony ordered Greenfeather to pay $3,166 in restitution, get counseling, and complete therapy at Lakeland Mental Health Center. He must also complete chemical dependency treatment at a secure juvenile facility.

Deserre Marie Anderson, 32, of Frazee has been sentenced in Becker County District Court on a felony charge of aiding an offender.

According to court records, on Oct. 9, 2018, a Detroit Lakes police investigator learned of the sexual assault of two children, reported by Becker County Human Services.

The children had disclosed that the "principal offender," allegedly Christopher Lynn Nelson, 39, of Frazee had physically and sexually assaulted them in the past.

The investigator informed Nelson that at least one child had made sexual abuse allegations against him and there was an active investigation into the allegations.

Anderson is accused of trying to help Nelson by asking at least one witness not to truthfully cooperate with the law enforcement investigation.

Two phone conversations involving Anderson were recorded by a witness and forwarded to investigators two days later.

On Oct. 28, District Judge Gretchen Thilmony issued a stay of adjudication and continued the case.

Anderson was ordered to serve 10 days in jail, with credit for one day served. Instead of the jail time, she can serve 20 days on electronic home monitoring at her own expense. She must get chemical dependency evaluation and follow the recommendations. Anderson must also testify truthfully at Nelson’s trial if necessary, and was placed on supervised probation for five years.

Nelson has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct in the case. In a plea agreement reached Oct. 21, he agreed to plead guilty to the second-degree charge. Sentencing is set for Dec. 10.