With the Dec. 27 charging of the alleged driver in a Dec. 22 police chase, more details have been released about an incident that injured a Forest Lake Police officer and resulted in a van being hit by gunfire.
According to court records, Matthew Floyd Grey, 23, of Forest Lake, was charged with obstructing the legal process, fourth-degree assault of a peace officer and fleeing in a motor vehicle. A criminal complaint revealed that police reportedly attempted to stop his vehicle after they recognized him and saw that he had active arrest warrants.
Records state that police spotted the van, owned by a relative of Grey’s, around 2:15 a.m. while a Forest Lake officer was assisting officers from Wyoming and Chisago County execute arrest warrants at the Lee Street trailer park in Forest Lake. Grey allegedly provided a false name when asked, but a Wyoming officer recognized him and knew that he had active warrants. When the Forest Lake officer told Grey he was under arrest, Grey allegedly refused to exit the van, and when the officer opened the van’s door, Grey put the van in drive and took off, tangling the officer between the door and the driver’s seat and dragging him alongside the van. When the van drove onto Lee Street, the officer feared that he would be slammed against a parked car, but the van hit something that knocked him loose onto the roadway. About that same time, records state, a Wyoming officer fired a gun at the van to try to stop it from continuing to drag the Forest Lake officer. Grey was allegedly apprehended after he reportedly drove into a dead end near the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and State Highway 97. No one was hurt by the gunshot, but the Forest Lake officer had abrasions and bruises to multiple body parts on his left side where he’d been dragged.
Drug dealer
A Forest Lake man is facing hefty charges after police allegedly found more than 3 pounds of methamphetamines in his vehicle.
According to court records, James Lee Johnson, 32, made his first appearance Dec. 15 on one count each of first-degree drug possession, possessing ammunition or a firearm after being convicted for a violent crime, and committing a crime while possessing a bulletproof vest. Johnson was arrested Nov. 19, 2016, on an outstanding warrant, and members of the Washington County Drug Task Force searched his vehicle, which had been located in the 100 block of Lee Street at the time of his arrest, a few days later. In the trunk of the car, detectives allegedly found a white box that contained three plastic zippered bags full of meth – just over 3 pounds worth overall. Next to the white box, detectives also allegedly found a gun case with a loaded Glock handgun inside and a bulletproof vest.
In the car’s back seat, Johnson’s criminal complaint states, detectives found a ledger that included information about drug payments, as well as several bags and vials of marijuana and multiple new flip phones.
Johnson has been convicted of multiple violent crimes, as well as for various drug charges He has also been charged in Ramsey County for fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.
Stabbing
A man has been charged with second-degree assault after allegedly stabbing another man while the two were at the Hitching Post Motel in Forest Lake.
According to court records, William Giron-Diaz, 31, of no permanent address, was found lying on a bed at the motel following a call around 12:40 a.m. Dec. 18 that someone had been stabbed in the neck at the location. The officer who located Giron-Diaz reportedly saw spots of blood and bloodied rags around the room and thought that Giron-Diaz may have been the victim of the stabbing. While the officer was looking into this possibility, another officer found the real victim in a vehicle in the parking lot. Giron-Diaz was detained, as police now believed he may have been the one doing the stabbing. Police allegedly found a knife with a 6-inch blade in Giron-Diaz’s motel room.
Giron-Diaz was interviewed by police, while the man found in the vehicle was taken to Regions Hospital after officers observed a stab wound in his neck. Giron-Diaz allegedly would not provide officers with his real name or date of birth, but when he was taken to Washington County Jail, he revealed his true identity and allegedly told officers that he could not remember much of the incident surrounding the stabbing, including whether or not he’d stabbed the other man at all. The other man, however, said the two men had been drinking alcohol and had started to argue about something that had happened to them earlier, allegedly prompting Giron-Diaz to stab him in the neck.
The following are other recent Washington County Court cases related to the Forest Lake area:
• Shane Richard Rafftery, 36, of Forest Lake, was charged Oct. 10 with disorderly conduct.
• Luke Allen Daniels, 33, of St. Paul, was charged Oct. 20 with making terroristic threats related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
• Lucas James Loughrey, 36, of Forest Lake, was sentenced Oct. 24 for felony domestic assault.
• Corey Lee Gall, 26, of Mora, was charged Oct. 24 with fourth-degree assault and fourth-degree property damage related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
• Charles Henry Radtke, 29, of Stacy, was sentenced Oct. 28 for a fifth-degree crime.
• Nicholas Shawn Christians, 26, of Minneapolis, was sentenced Nov. 2 for a fifth-degree drug crime related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
• Matthew David Mollen, 32, of Scandia, was sentenced Nov. 7 for felony DWI.
• Shawn Daniel Birdsall, 26, of Forest Lake, was sentenced Nov. 8 for a third-degree drug crime.
• Marlow Louis Geyer III, of Forest Lake, was sentenced Nov. 10 for violating registration requirements as a predatory offender.
• Gustav Christian Medenwaldt, 31, of Forest Lake, was charged Nov. 11 with a fifth-degree drug crime.
• Leon Sonny Harvey Haltli, 25, of Forest Lake, was sentenced Nov. 14 for possessing a dangerous weapon.
• Jessica Rose Palomino, 18, of Forest Lake, was charged Nov. 14 with a fifth-degree drug crime.
• Jesse David Anderson, 38, of Forest Lake, was charged Nov. 15 with being a fugitive from justice from another state.
• Gunnard Robert Olson, 21, of Forest Lake, was charged Nov. 15 with a fifth-degree drug crime.
• Shawn Riley Latessa, 36, of Forest Lake, was charged Nov. 16 with a fifth-degree drug crime.
• Nicholas Eugene Anderson, 22, of Stacy, was sentenced Nov. 21 for possessing marijuana in a motor vehicle.
• Tyler Cory Ecklund, 21, of Forest Lake, was charged Nov. 23 with violating registration requirements as a predatory offender.
• William Michael Temme, 50, of no permanent address, was charged Nov. 30 with a fifth-degree drug crime, providing a false name to a peace officer and DWI related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
• Jason Earl Bubb, 35, of Anoka, was sentenced Dec. 5 for a fourth-degree drug crime related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
• Morgan Leslie Pavey, 23, of Mahtomedi, was sentenced Dec. 7 for a fifth-degree drug crime related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
• Jacob Allen Lindman, 33, of Henriette, was charged Dec. 7 with a third-degree drug crime related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
• Andrew Loren David Cedarblade, 21, of Cambridge, was sentenced Dec. 8 for a fifth-degree drug crime related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
• Joseph Kelly Erickson, 23, of Anoka, was charged Dec. 13 with a fifth-degree drug crime related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
• Nicole Leigh Garcia and Donald Nicholas Garcia of Hugo were sentenced Dec. 14 for second-degree burglary related to a case investigated by the Forest Lake Police Department.
