Criminal Division Highlights

During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Criminal Division continued its hard work to do justice for victims and the public. Our prosecutors tried several jury trials during the quarter, including a murder trial involving the tragic death of a teenage girl.

A jury found Dillon Simmons guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, criminal vehicular homicide, and four counts of second-degree assault for killing a 17-year-old girl. The jury acquitted Simmons of second-degree intentional murder. After an altercation between two groups of young adults and juveniles in a park in Forest Lake, Simmons drove his car toward members of the other group. When members of that group jumped out of the way, Simmons backed up and then again drove directly at members of the other group. Simmons struck and killed a 17-year-old girl. Simmons then drove away from the scene. The prosecutors on the case, our victim/witness coordinators, and our legal assistants worked tirelessly to do justice for the victim and to hold Simmons accountable.

Our office also held other violent criminals accountable. A jury found William Butler guilty of second-degree assault and other charges for threatening a woman with a gun and threatening to kill her. Omar Jama was found guilty of threats of violence for threatening a man who came to help Jama fix his truck at a rest stop after Jama had called for assistance. In both cases, our prosecutors presented the testimony of innocent victims who were subjected to senseless violence by their attackers, and the juries of Washington County residents ensured that the defendants would be held accountable.

The Criminal Division’s work goes beyond holding violent offenders accountable. The division designates a prosecutor to be a part of the Offender Recovery Program team. This program recognizes that some nonviolent offenders, whose crimes are fueled by substance use, can become productive members of society with the right combination of treatment, monitoring, and structure. Participants in the program are subjected to high-intensity supervision by probation officers, and those who cannot succeed in the program can be and sometimes are sentenced to prison. Our office works with Washington County Community Corrections, judges, public defenders, and other professionals to ensure that nonviolent offenders who can become productive members of society are given the chance to do so. In 2024, six participants graduated from the program, which requires lengthy treatment, programming, and monitoring.

Juvenile Division Highlights

The fourth quarter of 2024 saw the juvenile division attorneys and support staff very busy with trial preparation. The division had three child protection trials during that period which involved thousands of pages of documents, hundreds of exhibits, and many hours of trial testimony preparation. Two trials involved the transfer of custody of a child to a relative and the third trial involved termination of parental rights. Juvenile division attorneys are so thankful for the many hours put in by the support staff in preparing for those trials and the hard work of the Community Services social workers throughout the case.

The end of 2024 saw some notable trends in juvenile court case filings. The County Attorney’s office filed 540 cases in juvenile court in 2024. That was slightly more than 2023 when the office filed 530 cases. Despite the similar numbers, the types of cases sent to court were significantly different in those two years. There was a 16% drop in delinquency cases in 2024. Those cases involve juveniles who commit offenses like assault, criminal damage to property, and mostly lower-level offenses. Traffic offenses rose by 33% from 153 cases in 2023 to 204 cases in 2024. The traffic numbers cause some concern due to the dramatic increase and the nature of those offenses involve inexperienced drivers. This is something the County Attorney’s office will monitor to determine if last year was an outlier or if there is a cause of this significant increase.

Civil Division Highlights

The Civil Division provides a wide array of services to Washington County, including reviewing every contract with the county, ensuring child support obligations are being met, and providing the day-to-day legal advice requested by the county’s leaders. Here are a few of the Civil Division’s accomplishments during the last quarter.

Civil Commitments

Due to the limited resources available to address the needs of individuals with mental illness, there has been significant activity in both the legislature and the courts regarding civil commitments. This mainly involves the '48-hour rule' and the prioritization of state-operated treatment admissions. County Attorney Kevin Magnuson has been involved in a legislatively created task force, which is working to find solutions and develop strategies to address the issue of individuals, who have not been convicted of a crime, waiting in jails for weeks or months before being admitted to a state psychiatric hospital for court-ordered treatment. Assistant Washington County Attorneys Jim Zuleger and Abby Maruish are actively navigating this uncertainty to secure the necessary services and treatment for these individuals. Last fall, Jim was appointed to co-chair the Minnesota County Attorney Association’s (MCAA) subcommittee on civil commitments, where he helps provide training to other county attorneys and supports advocacy and lobbying efforts. Jim also played a key role in planning and presenting at the MCAA’s indeterminate commitment training in November. Additionally, Jim collaborated with Nick Hydukovich from the Criminal Division to offer training to Law Enforcement about civil commitments and the Rule 20 criminal court process. Jim also provides civil commitment training as part of the biannual crisis intervention training (CIT) for law enforcement.

Public Works

Civil Division staff have worked closely with Washington County’s Public Works department to acquire property for roadway improvements and the expansion of park lands. Currently, the county is acquiring property as part of the Highway 36 and Lake Elmo Avenue Improvement Project, which will result in the construction of an overpass and additional traffic lanes to replace a traffic signal at the intersection. This high priority project is designed to improve traffic flow and safety along this corridor.

Criminal Appeals

In Minnesota, criminal defendants have the right to appeal their conviction, and any adverse determination made during a prosecution. When such appeals are made, the Civil Division defends the convictions at the Minnesota Court of Appeals and at the Minnesota Supreme Court. Recently, Andrew Jackola successfully argued an appeal challenging a conviction for first-degree assault on a correctional officer at the Stillwater prison. Adrian Dominique Bell, an inmate at MCF-Stillwater, was convicted of assaulting a prison guard with a makeshift knife during an uprising at the prison. Bell argued on appeal that his conviction should be overturned due to evidentiary and constitutional issues. The Civil Division successfully defended the conviction, and the Court of Appeals upheld the inmate’s 10-year sentence.

This upgrade not only makes work easier for county staff but also helps the legal process run more smoothly, which in turn can lead to faster case resolutions benefiting the entire community. Learn more about the Washington County Attorney’s Office by visiting WashingtonCountyMN.gov/CountyAttorney. Contact staff by calling 651-430-6115 or emailing WCA@co.washington.mn.us.

Guardianships/Conservatorships

Guardianship/Conservatorship attorneys continue to provide a safety net for vulnerable and at-risk adults who require the assistance of guardians and conservators, while providing valuable training regarding the use of guardianships and conservatorships to Community Services. In cooperation with Adult Protection workers, we recently obtained an Emergency Conservatorship for an elderly woman who was a serial victim of financial and romance scams that put her on the brink of homelessness.

Forfeitures

With the rise in motorists fleeing from the police, forfeiture attorneys have been busy removing the vehicles at issue from the possession, and sometimes ownership, of the offenders to deter similar criminal conduct in the future.

Medical Assistance Recovery

The Civil Division works closely with Community Services to recover Medical Assistance expenditures from the estates of deceased recipients. This recovery is federally mandated, and the recovered funds are reinvested in the Medical Assistance program to support ongoing and future benefits. In 2024, the Civil Division was involved in the recovery of more than $1.3 million of taxpayer funds.