Olmsted County LEO’s Not Happy Violent Offenders Are Getting Bail
The release from detention of those accused of violence against people is more than worrying for law enforcement in our neck of the woods here in Southeastern Minnesota, says Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson.
I'll be very, very blunt with you. Law enforcement is not happy.
The conversation at this point was about releasing many non-violent offenders to return on their promise to appear in court as a method of keeping people from getting Covid-19 as the pandemic raged through the United States of America.
Andy Brownell, co-host of Rochester Today on KROC NEWS, asked the Sheriff for some clarification as people accused of violent crimes have been released. For example, 23-year-old Omar Maani, who faces two counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault in connection with an incident at the Cascade Creek Apartments.
The criminal complaint alleges he chased and attacked several women with a machete-style knife after he fell asleep during a gathering at his apartment and woke up around 2:30 in the morning and became upset because he could not find his vape pen. Read More: Charges Allege Missing Vape Pen Prompted Rochester Machete Attack
The man was was granted conditional release from jail without bail, while his unconditional bail was set at $75,000 and is expected to be back in court September 7, 2021.
Sheriff Torgerson didn't mince words in his replay...
Yeah. And I'll be very, very blunt with you. Law enforcement is not happy. There's no question about it, but, for us to go to a judge or a court, or even the county attorney's office and say that that doesn't make any sense, that's, that's our voice. And we have a different perspective than a lot of people in some cases, but we're trying to be advocates for the victim.
Click play to hear the conversation...or scroll down to hear the entire Rochester Today Radio-On-Demand podcast.
Torgerson says when the victims hear the person allegedly responsible for their violent attack has been released, they have no choice but to lock themselves inside their home or some other safe place.
We hear this all the time from the victims. Our detectives do that. A victim is like, 'Wow, he's getting back out or they're coming back out. Or, or my friend said they got released. You know, what am I supposed to do?' They're now basically feeling like they're in some kind of prison themselves because their security was that this person was secure and locked up. And so it's a, it's a tricky balance.
If you have a feeling about the decisions that put alleged violent offenders back on the street before trial, the Sheriff says, "...write a letter or call the (Olmsted County) Attorney's office, contact the judge, try to get ahold of the judge." Be respectful, but tell them how you feel.
- To contact the Olmsted County Attorney's office, click here.
- To contact Olmsted County Judges, click here.
Hear the entire Rochester Today Radio-On-Demand Podcast...just click play.
LOOK: Highlighted Warrants for Goodhue and Olmsted County (as of September 22, 2021)
This goes back a bit, but it's a nice reminder of the good happening in our community.
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