HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 11-04 No more tolerance for domestic violence in Maplewood MAPLEWOOD REVIEW2/19/2016 No more tolerance for domestic violence in Maplewood I Lillie Suburban Newspapers - LillieNews.com
No more tolerance for domestic
violence in Maplewood
Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 11/04/2015 - 7:27am
By: Erin Hinrichs
Joint prosecution project is holding more offenders accountable
Committing acts of domestic violence and skirting jail time had become somewhat of a routine for Anthony Lester, 33. By early
January, he had five domestic assault charges on his record that had all been dismissed.
With only one domestic assault conviction from 2005, the odds appeared to be in his favor.
All that changed when assistant Ramsey County attorney Anna Christie took an interest in Lester, tracking his actions in
White Bear Lake and then Maplewood.
On Jan. 8, Lester was arrested for interfering with a 911 call. He pleaded guilty, was issued a Domestic Abuse No Contact
Order, and allowed to roam free, pending sentencing.
But court records indicate he just couldn't stay away from his victim.
After two subsequent no -contact -order violations — the second compounded by a count of domestic assault for attacking his
victim in her work parking lot, which was charged as a gross misdemeanor — he was given 90 days in jail at his February
sentencing for the 911 interference case.
Determined to prosecute him fully, Christie succeeded in getting his gross misdemeanor recharged as a felony in March.
Since he pleaded guilty, Lester now has a felony -level domestic violence -related conviction on his record, in addition to the
two misdemeanors from January.
"This is a guy who had gotten a lot of free passes," Christie said in a recent interview. "Now he has prison time hanging over
his head, instead of just local jail time."
Christie described this as the first major "victory" for the Ramsey County Joint Domestic Abuse Prosecution Enhancement
Project, a collaborative partnership with Maplewood, White Bear Lake and Tubman, a domestic violence trauma center.
Analyzing the first nine months of data, Ramsey County attorney John Choi said his office is seeing "a number of promising
things."
"There was a time maybe 40 years ago [police officers] could view a domestic violence incident to be a private one. We have
now determined that domestic violence impacts all of us, as a community. And that it's not a private thing. It's actually a public
thing," Choi told listeners at an Oct. 13 League of Women Voters event, where he presented preliminary data for the first time.
A strong partnership
Statistically, one in every four women in the U.S. — and one in every seven men — will experience domestic violence by an
intimate partner in their lifetime. And roughly three women are murdered every day by a current or former male partner.
That includes women like April Tennin, the 41 -year-old Maplewood mother of three, whose husband is accused of placing a
gun in her mouth and killing her in August. Larry Tenpin was charged with second-degree murder.
Domestic violence is a complex issue that often evades the criminal justice system. But project partners, including
Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt's support through the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, are invested in making a
more concerted effort to combat these cases by holding more offenders accountable.
The joint prosecution project is a two-year pilot project that started in January. Ramsey County assigned Christie to work out
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of Maplewood, where she supports the city's criminal prosecution attorney, Elliot Knetsch, in domestic violence -related cases.
Funding for the project comes from the county's criminal forfeiture account. Supplementary grant funding from the Office of
Justice Programs supports additional resources at Tubman.
After the second year, Choi anticipates Maplewood and White Bear Lake will find a way to keep the initiative intact without
Christie. It will require allocating additional money to key resources like Tubman and the city prosecutor.
"With the increased [domestic violence] caseload and with the increased work that it takes to obtain better court outcomes, we
could not continue indefinitely with the existing budget," Knetsch said.
He has already started talking with the Maplewood City Council about future funding needs.
"I think this is an innovative way for [municipal] government to think about these things and engage the community in those
buying decisions," Choi said. "I really think they need to think about buying outcomes, notjust services."
Collecting evidence
Some of these added expenses impact the police department. In Maplewood, police officers are being asked to spend more
time taking recorded statements from victims and witnesses, and are receiving training for domestic violence -specific calls.
Investigators are doing more on the back end, searching for additional witnesses and evidence, when need be, to help the
attorney build a stronger case.
Christie acknowledges that domestic violence calls are hard on officers, especially when they find themselves back at the
same address time and time again. It's discouraging when they don't feel like offenders are being held accountable in the
criminal justice system, she said. But she's already seen a change in both police departments.
"I think they feel more invested," she said. "They've been really willing to do everything we've asked them to do."
That includes hand -delivering subpoenas to offenders, rather than mailing them out.
"If they're personally served with a subpoena and they don't come to court, the judge can tell the sheriff to pick them up.
That's a big difference," Knetsch said, adding the department has adapted well under the direction of Chief Paul Schnell.
Officers are also supported by Tubman legal advocates like Katie, who specialize in working with domestic violence victims.
They are training police on victim safety measures and equipping them with information on available resources so they can
connect victims with things like counseling, protection at local shelters and legal guidance.
Likewise, Katie and her colleagues are also reaching out to witnesses directly — an added step that's proven incredibly
helpful, she said, especially when victims recant their claims or don't show up to court.
Tubman also has extra funding to offer victims cab rides to the courthouse downtown and provide translation services in
court.
Results in Maplewood
When Choi spearheaded this joint prosecution project, he made measurable outcomes a priority. Looking back at the first
nine months worth of Maplewood data, he pointed out a few distinct trends that he hopes will continue to grow in the coming
months.
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First, he pushed for the elimination of all continuances for dismissal outcomes, which would often result in the domestic
abuser paying a monetary fine of a few hundred dollars. If there was no recurrence, the case would be dismissed "like it
never occurred," Choi explained.
"I thought it shouldn't happen anywhere in the county.... When this happens, I do think we should have a record."
Additionally, the number of domestic abuse charges has risen sharply, more of these cases are being presented for
prosecution, fewer cases are being dismissed and partners are achieving more quality convictions.
Lastyear, Maplewood presented only 93 cases, Choi said. This year, the city has already surpassed that, recording 102
cases thus far.
While the number ofjury trials is still relatively low, he said, the average dismissal rate has dropped from 46 percent, during
the four years prior, to 29 percent in the first nine months of the project.
By late 2016, these numbers will be even more revealing. But the criminal justice system can't solve the issue, alone.
Social norms surrounding domestic violence also need to be addressed, Choi said. He's a proponent of holding community
conversations about how children — especially boys — are raised, to encourage emotional maturity and gender equality.
"My hope is that after 40 years boys will be loving and respectful," he said. "And girls will grow up in a society where they will
be valued and they will be safe."
Erin Hinrichs can be reached at 651-748-7814 and ehinrichs@lillienews.com. Follow her at twitter.com/EHinrichsNews.
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