Cliff Buchan
News EditorTwo Forest Lake men were arrested without incident last week on outstanding felony warrants from Itasca County.
Forest Lake police, acting in concert with information from authorities in Itasca County, made two felony arrests at 131 Lee St. at 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 7.
Taken into custody were Ronald J. Jones, 36, of 131 Lee St., and James S. Murphy, 23, of 888 SW 12th St.
Both men were wanted on felony warrants of aggravated robbery, two counts of kidnapping and second degree assault in connection with alleged crimes in Itasca County.
Storm reports
Forest Lake fire crews and police officers found plenty of calls during the Sunday night round of thunderstorms that moved through the area.
Police were called to a number of alarms that went off during the storm.
Forest Lake fire and rescue crews responded to 10 storm-related calls Sunday. Eight were within a two-hour period from 5:30-7:30 p.m. while two came later in the evening.
Six of the calls were to areas of Forest Lake and two were in Columbus Township where downed trees took out power lines or set trees on fire.
The most serious call was to the 7400 block of North Shore Trail N. at 5:44 p.m. where a tree came down and hit a vehicle, forcing it into the ditch. The two adult occupants of the vehicle and their five-month-old baby were free from the vehicle and not hurt when police and fire personnel arrived on the scene.
Fire Chief Gary Sigfrinius, in anticipation of storm-related calls, dispatched firefighters to the Forest Lake and Columbus fire stations in advance of the stormís arrival.
Other crimes
In other crime reports, two fifth-degree drug charges resulted after a man and woman were stopped for allegedly shoplifting at Wal-Mart, 200 SW 12th St. at 6:30 p.m., Monday.
Chief of Police Clark Quiring said store security detained two individuals who were reportedly seen entering and exiting the store a number of times.
Bjorn Erik Nelson, 28, of 2548 Dorothy Ave., White Bear Lake, and Jenelle E. Lindblom, 28, of Pine City, were taken into custody.
Nelson was charged with shoplifting, fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance and held on a felony warrant from Ramsey County. Lindblom was charged with conspiracy to theft-shoplifting and fifth-degree controlled substance possession.
In a separate matter, Quiring said seven Forest Lake officers, a Minnesota State Patrol trooper and Washington County deputy sheriff were sent to Forest Lake High School, 6101 Scandia Trail N. on May 6 after reports were made that two students were planning to fight.
Quiring said the high school students intended to resume a disagreement after school and a number of other students left school to observe the planned fight. ěThe fight never took place,î the chief said.
The high school students who left the building without permission and the two would be combatants face school suspension, according to city police reports.
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