A Message from the
County Attorney

Dear staff and friends of the office,

It has been a great second quarter of 2025 in the County Attorney’s Office. Right away we started the quarter off right by recognizing National Crime Victim’s Rights Week. This year’s theme was “Kinship, Connecting & Healing.” This annual observance challenges us to build connections with survivors and ensure that resources are available to all victims of crime. It was also an excellent opportunity to say thank you to our Victim/Witness Coordinators in the office – Christine, Shawna, Emma, Jessie, and Kelley. Each one does an amazing job for our community, and we appreciate all they do!

At the end of April, we recognized the talent and tireless efforts of our support staff by celebrating Administrative Professional Day with a luncheon at the Lake Elmo Inn. It is a small way to say thank you for their dedication to the office. The work they do makes a difference in the quality of life for everyone in Washington County, building a stronger and better future.

In May we kicked off our annual Law Clerk Summer Training program. Every year this office provides work opportunities and practical learning experience to law students to enhance their academic and professional development. In exchange, the students provide invaluable legal support on the jail and misdemeanor court calendars every day of the week. We are so lucky to have six outstanding law students this summer (Grace, Connie, Joe, Ryan, Madeline, and Jared). A big thank you to assistant county attorneys Scott May and Hannah Prokopowicz for their leadership at the training event.

In June, our office had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the Oak Park Heights – Party in the Park event for the community. Police Chief Steve Hansen invited our office to attend and give the community a chance to meet with staff, ask questions, and grab a copy of our Office Annual Report. Assistant County Attorneys Nick Hydukovich, Erin Stephens, Hannah Prokopowicz, and I spent a fun night at the park.

It was not all celebration of events in June, it was also the end of the Legislature’s special session. After working for the past three years at the Legislature, there finally was real progress on a seemingly intractable and dire problem facing prosectors and defense counsel, sheriffs, judges, counties, and most of all the people who are not convicted of a crime but are being incarcerated in county jails while waiting, often months, for their court-ordered, inpatient-level mental health care. I joined representatives of the Sheriff’s and County Attorneys Associations at a capitol press conference in demanding action to alleviate the backlog of patients waiting in our jails for a bed to open in a secure state mental health facility – the only hospital care available for them. I am proud to report, the Legislature in a final act of the special session responded with $20 million in construction funds, plus $34 million in operating funds, for a 50-bed expansion project at the Anoka Regional Treatment Center. Senator Karin Housley, Ranking Minority Member of the Capital Investment Committee, was especially effective in securing this funding. As a result, Washington County is a safer and more humane place.

Sincerely,

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Kevin Magnuson

Criminal Division Highlights

In the second quarter of 2025, the Criminal Division continued to protect the public and seek justice for victims. Our prosecutors tried multiple jury trials including violent crimes during the quarter.

A jury convicted David Powers of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, and domestic assault by strangulation. Powers sexually assaulted, confined, and strangled the victim in her Lake Elmo townhouse over two days. Washington County Sheriff’s deputies, who were dispatched to check the victim’s welfare after she did not show up for work, saw her trying to open an upper-level window and heard screams for help.

Powers exercised his right to testify in his defense. When court recessed for the weekend, his testimony had not yet concluded. Powers did not show up for court the next day. The Court issued a warrant for his arrest, but the trial continued. At the end, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts.

After the jury verdicts, the parties learned that Powers had died by suicide in San Antonio, Texas. The trial team and Washington County Sheriff’s Office did tremendous work in brining Powers to account and justice for the victim.

After another jury trial, a jury convicted Christopher Politano of felony domestic assault and felony fifth-degree assault. Though the victim recanted her statements to law enforcement on the witness stand, the prosecutor was able to introduce her prior statements to law enforcement about the assault, which Politano putting his hands around the victim’s neck, pushing the victim, and breaking the victim’s phone. The victim had reported that Politano had been abusing her for years. He had previous convictions for domestic assault and domestic assault by strangulation. Domestic assault cases are some of the most important but difficult cases to prosecute, and the trial team did an outstanding job of overcoming the obstacles so often present in these cases to obtain a conviction. Politano was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Juvenile Division Highlights

The County Attorney’s Office continued its tradition of recognizing Washington County students who pledge to graduate from high school. On May 30, 2025, two 12th-grade students—one from Oakdale and one from Stillwater—were honored. During a small ceremony, each student received an iPad as a token of recognition and appreciation for their commitment to education. County Attorney Kevin Magnuson spoke to the students about the importance of completing high school and having a plan to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

During this last quarter, attorneys from the Juvenile Division delivered presentations to over 250 law enforcement officers and social workers. These presentations were given at statewide conferences and to specific Washington County staff. Topics included conducting investigations of juvenile crimes, recent updates in juvenile law legislation, and preparing for trials involving child protection cases.

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 second quarter of 2025.

Criminal Appeals

The Civil Division defends the office’s criminal prosecutions on appeal. One recent success involves an appeal from a trial and conviction for murder in a shootout that killed 14-year-old Demaris Hobbs-Ekdahl at a June 2021 graduation party in Woodbury. The court of appeals affirmed the convictions of Xavier Hudson for aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder, second-degree felony murder, and four counts of second-degree assault. Hudson and a co-defendant (also convicted) fired dozens of rounds at a vehicle that was leaving the graduation party. Hudson argued on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to overcome his self-defense claim or to show that Hudson aided and abetted the crimes. The court of appeals rejected these arguments, concluding that the evidence demonstrated that Hudson did not act in self-defense and that his actions demonstrated an intent to aid and abet second-degree murder. Hudson was charged with aiding and abetting these crimes because both he and the co-defendant fired simultaneously at the car in which the victim was a passenger. Aiding and abetting a crime carries the same penalty as acting alone in committing a crime.

Civil Commitments

The Civil Division reviews and pursues civil commitments for individuals with mental illness or who are sexually dangerous and need treatment. One recent example includes a contested civil commitment involving a sexually dangerous person. This individual had a history of over 40 instances of sexual misconduct ranging from indecent exposure to criminal sexual conduct against a minor. He came to the attention of the Washington County Attorney’s Office after failing to register as a predatory offender. Following a contested hearing, the court committed him to a secure treatment facility run by the State of Minnesota.

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 the first half of 2025, the Civil Division helped recover $294,000 in taxpayer funds.

Child Support

The child support team continues its work in establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support orders. A significant legislative change came this year which allows for more parents to keep their children covered under the medical assistance program. This has allowed the County and State to continue to offer low-cost alternatives for medical care for children throughout Washington County.

Advisory

The Civil Division helped the county develop guidelines around donation drives sponsored by employee resource groups. These drives take very little time but deliver an outsized benefit – at no cost to the county taxpayer. The first such donation drive under these new guidelines was on behalf of the Women’s Empowerment Group. The employee resource group collected feminine hygiene products from donation boxes placed throughout employee spaces at county facilities and donated them to Brittany’s Place, which provides critical care to women and girls who are bravely rebuilding their lives after being the victims of human trafficking.

A pile of collected donations of female hygiene products

Group of people at Law Enforcement training

Annual SRO Training Day

Washington County Attorney’s Office offered its annual Secondary School Administrators and School Resource Officer (SRO) training as part of our mission to foster consistent school attendance and the wellbeing of kids in our county. The all-day, in-person event is a wonderful educational opportunity for the county’s school administrators, SROs, and law enforcement personnel to receive practical training that enhances their ability to interact with and help students and parents negotiate the challenges our youth face daily both at school and in the world. It is also an opportunity for us to provide updates on developing trends and juvenile law as well as the “Ask a Juvenile Prosecutor” Q&A Session. Attendees receive POST credits or Continuing Education Program hours that satisfy their ongoing professional education requirements.

Community Outreach

SRO Training Class

On July 22, Juvenile Division Chief, Assistant County Attorney Tony Zdroik, conducted a 2-hour training class that was focused on juvenile investigations, at the Minnesota School Safety Center in Fridley, MN. This class was open to SROs from the metro area.

Juvenile Division Chief, Assistant County Attorney Tony Zdroik, conducting an SRO training class.

Assistant County Attorney Keshini Ratnayake

Washington County Deputy Liebenow with his K9

Staying Connected

During the second quarter, Kevin continued to meet with city councils around the county to share updates and have conversation about the work of the attorney’s office current crime trends. He also took part in the Oak Park Heights Party in the park community celebration and joined the City of Woodbury at their Juneteenth celebration at Ojibway Park.

A Message from theCounty Attorney