Court news: Detroit Lakes man accused of check forgery

DETROIT LAKES — Michael Carter Comeaux, 57, of rural Detroit Lakes, has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony check forgery.

According to court records, on Nov. 17, 2021, a Becker County man reported that he was missing two pages of checks and that 11 of those checks had been written on his business account at Midwest Bank in Detroit Lakes.

The checks were written out to his employee, Comeaux. The bank provided copies of all 11 checks as well as photos of Comeaux at the bank cashing the checks. A total of $9,620 had been withdrawn between Oct. 5, 2021, and Nov. 15, 2021.

On Nov. 22, 2021, Comeaux admitted that he stole the checks and wrote them out to himself. He said he had a gambling problem and intended to win the money back to repay the victim.

On March 3 he was released without bail, under standard conditions of release, and on June 2 he failed to appear at his sentencing hearing and a warrant was issued by District Judge Michael Fritz.

Todd Derek Umlauf, 40, of Detroit Lakes, has been charged in Becker County District Court with felony fifth-degree controlled substance crime.

According to court records, on July 27, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Detroit Lakes, and Umlauf was in one of the bedrooms along with a large flat-screen TV with several surveillance cameras watching the exterior of the residence.

A small baggie containing about 5 grams of methamphetamine was found on top of a clothes basket. Officers also found a 9mm handgun, a 12 gauge shotgun and two rifles. A large (undisclosed) amount of cash was also found. These items were seized by law enforcement. Umlauf admitted the guns and meth were his.

A sentencing hearing is set for Nov. 16.

Jared Scott Allen Hanson, 33, of Detroit Lakes, has been sentenced in Becker County District Court for illegal possession of a firearm.

According to court records, on Jan. 12 law enforcement executed a narcotics/firearm-related search warrant at Hanson’s residence in Detroit Lakes.

In the home, they found, in part, the following: A plastic zip-lock baggie containing 2.66 grams of methamphetamine; two plastic zip-lock baggies containing 8.21 grams (6.06 and 2.15 grams) of meth in a green pouch; miscellaneous drug paraphernalia; a green and black 9mm semi-auto Polymer 80 pistol and magazine; 42 rounds of 9mm Ruger ammunition; a Blackhawk gun holster; and miscellaneous ammunition (shotgun, rifle, pistol and spent pistol rounds) located throughout the residence.

Hanson was convicted of a felony second-degree assault charge in 2017 and is not allowed to have guns or ammunition.

On Oct. 5, District Judge Gretchen Thilmony sentenced Hanson on the possession of a firearm charge to 60 months in prison at St. Cloud, stayed five years.

He was ordered to serve 33 days in jail, with credit for 33 days served. He must pay a $500 fine and $650 in court fees, and must get a comprehensive assessment and successfully complete all recommendations, including aftercare.

He was placed on supervised probation for five years. A felony charge of third-degree controlled substance crime was dropped in a plea agreement.

The sentence was a downward departure from state sentencing guidelines because Hanson was found to be particularly amenable to probation, agreed to a plea agreement and was cooperative during the case, according to court records.

Christian Delon Andvik, 29, of rural Detroit Lakes, has been sentenced in Becker County District Court for felony domestic assault.

According to court records, on Jan. 7, 2022, at a motel on West Lake Drive in Detroit Lakes he spit on a woman’s shirt, slapped her in the face and pulled her hair during an argument.

Andvik was previously convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault in 2019 and gross misdemeanor domestic assault in 2021 in incidents involving the same woman.

On Sept. 20, District Judge Michelle W. Lawson ordered Andvik to serve 30 days in jail, with credit for seven days served. Work release privileges were granted. He was fined $1,000 plus $1,150 in court fees. He was ordered to complete a comprehensive assessment and follow the recommendations, including aftercare. A domestic abuse no-contact order was issued until Sept. 20, 2027, and he was placed on supervised probation for five years. The sentence is a stay of imposition, and successful completion of probation will result in a misdemeanor conviction.

Terry Joseph O’Hara, 40, of rural Frazee has been sentenced in Becker County District Court for gross misdemeanor third-degree burglary.

The original first-degree felony burglary charge was reduced in an amended sentencing agreement.

According to court records, on May 13, a Becker County deputy responded to a report of a person breaking into ice houses near a gravel pit in Becker County. The reporting party said the suspect was running away, but lost sight of him as he entered the wooded area.

The deputy arrived with a K9 dog and more law enforcement officers. The K9 team was able to track the suspect and found O’Hara hiding in the woods. He was arrested and admitted to breaking into three fish houses, causing more than $1,000 in damage.

On June 6, District Judge Steven J. Cahill sentenced him to 365 days in jail, with 341 days stayed for two years, and credit for 24 days served. He was fined $300 plus $450 in court fees, and was placed on unsupervised probation for two years.

Chad Eric Stewart, 38, of Thief River Falls has had a felony charge of domestic assault by strangulation dismissed in Becker County District Court.

According to court records, on Jan. 12 a White Earth police officer was dispatched to Ponsford on the report of an assault. A woman there said Stewart had assaulted her and poured an unknown substance down her throat.

On July 21, the charge was dismissed by the Becker County Attorney’s Office, because “the State does not believe it can meet its burden of proof at trial based on recently disclosed additional investigative materials,” according to court records.