Photo By Kip Or Kelly Browne,1564 Hillside Ave. N.
Amid sudden, spontaneous celebrations of the Maxwell "Guilty x18" verdict, there are questions for neighborhood leaders in Jordan about "where do we go from here?"
Does this verdict substantially change the status of...
...1564 Hillside Ave. N.? Is there any way for that house to be seized by Hennepin County, and its renovation/resale or demolition moved forward...one would hope with substantial input from the neighborhood association?
Word on the street is this hot question just hit the mental "front burner" in the Jordan Neighborhood. It may be that, legally, nothing has changed with any of these properties. After all, they weren't OWNED by Larry Maxwell, unlike the situation at 409 31st Ave. N., in which Maxwell apparently possesses a share, and there is an IRS tax lien.
However, word of Maxwell's conviction is sure to hit the mainstream press and suddenly the properties at issue will be briefly thrust into the public eye. Now is the time for the Jordan Neighborhood to advocate decisive action with these properties. That may or may not be demolition: the jury might be back for Larry Maxwell, at least on the 18 counts, but the jury is still out on the buildings themselves.
On another note, a description came from Hawthorne Housing Director Jeff Skrenes of how a number of NoMi movers and shakers got word of Maxwell's conviction. There was a meeting of the Northside Home Fund today, and many individuals were there including Council Members Hofstede and Samuels. Anne McCandless of the Jordan Neighborhood brought up the recent conviction of the T.J. Waconia fraudsters, and said how this was a perfect example of neighborhood groups working together with other authorities.
At that moment, Jeff Skrenes thought, "I wonder if John called me with any news of Larry Maxwell?" Jeff checked his voice mail, and then--in front of those assembled at that neighborhood meeting--said he had a "Johnny Northside exclusive" and repeated the information I'd relayed:
Guilty on all 18 counts. Taken away in handcuffs. Jury still working on Blakely factors.
This news was met with a collective cheer by that gathering of influential Northsiders. Drinking reportedly continued late into the night at Broadway Pizza.
And now, enjoy this song by Damien Rice called "Nine Crimes," click here.
Did you enjoy it? Well, here, click to enjoy it AGAIN.
8 comments:
Thank you for posting the blog about the Larry Maxwell trial. The outcome is wonderful; a good ending to what has been a sad chapter in one of my dear friend's life.
You see my BFF was one of the victims and a witness for the prosecution. So how did it come to this? She worked hard and long to live a dream that seemed reachable. She worked hard for at a job for years with little room for growth, then found a better job and commuted 1.5 hours each way to work for a start up company for over 12 years. She worked long hours and made her way up the career ladder. She saved her raises and her bonuses so one day she could buy investment properties. She had a dream of retiring at 50 and living in Minnesota, a place she visited when a childhood friend moved there from the east coast. She loved the area and asked her friend to keep an eye out for home. She loved the climate, the people and the area. She made a great sacrifice, putting away every penny. She also got her realtors license to help with her dream, but because of the long work hours and long commute, taking out local clients out was not easy. So she did not use the license in the manner she had hoped. But it was okay, because she thought one day when she moved to Minnesota, she would get a chance to be a realtor.
A few years later, she got a call from that friend who told her the foreclosure market was climbing and now would be a good time to buy investment properties. After several conversations, she booked a trip and went out to see some properties. He introduced her to Larry Maxwell, who showed her a few properties and gained her confidence. Well, we all know what happened from there. But what you do not know is...my dear friend has spent the last few years in legal muck and financial ruin. Those properties needed a lot of work and were not in rentable condition. Now they have been foreclosed on and she is desperately trying to hold on to the home she lives in. She lost the job that helped her reach that dream and found another at a lower salary, then recently lost it because she had to fly out for the trial. Savings, 401k and other cash has been drained trying to fix the homes. Trust me, Larry deserves jail, the victims and their stories are horrific...
Just as your community has to decide where it goes from here, so does my friend. She has to find a job in this bad economy, rebuild her nest egg (which will be harder to do since we are nearing 50) and manage to payoff the debt that has accumulated from the crime.
All through this, she has managed to be optimistic about the future. I admire that about her, she has a strong resilience and a great attitude. She got past the anger and hurt, forged a new resolve to close this chapter.
I just wanted to say thank you for supporting your community and keeping us abreast of what was happening. Please pray for the victims of his crimes as they close this chapter of their lives and move forward.
The way it happened, actually, was that Tom Fulton of the Family Housing Fund (who was chairing this meeting) passed out the Strib article about the TJ Waconia sentencing. He said that this was yet another "textbook example" of how north Minneapolis is holding people accountable and taking control of their community.
He may have said something as well about how this type of accomplishment is something to be boasted about across the country.
Then Anne said she'd received a text right before our meeting started that the Maxwell jury had gone into deliberation. I missed a call from you, John, and thought based on the timing of that call that MAYBE it was about the verdict. (Could the 18 counts have been decided that quickly? Surely not, but it's worth checking, I thought.)
Then I made my "Johnny Northside Exclusive" announcement to boisterous applause.
Thanks, John, for your incessant blogging on this issue, it is truly appreciated.
Minnesota Trial Court Public Access (MPA) Remote Veiw
http://pa.courts.state.mn.us/
I looked up Jerome Kingrussell... both in the "Criminal/Traffic/Petty Case Records" viewer and "Civil, Family & Probate Case Records" viewer... he's a fairly "unsavory" character to say the least... Quite a history of criminal and civil activity there... worth a spin
Over on the "Minnesota Public Criminal History" site (https://cch.state.mn.us/) I found Mr. Kingrussell has a total of 14 (!) "Reported Names" over his reported criminal history going back as far as 1992... There are 11 items listed in the "Conviction Summary" section of which 8 are "Conviction Level: Felony".
I can see why Reed might have wanted to keep Mr. (first name) Jerome aka Lance/Daniel (last name) Kingrussell aka Whipps/Brunven/Jersey off the collective radar...
Now where did I put that link that shows "mug" shots?
WHERE INDEED!!!!!????
STOP TEASING AND GIMME THE LINK!!!!!!
http://info.doc.state.mn.us/publicviewer/main.asp
Sometimes "mug" shots pop up with the info.
I was familiar with the state site, but that Hennepin County site is a whole new level of fun.
However, no mug or history turns up in the STATE site for Kingrussell. Otherwise I'd grab the mug and put it up here. (A mug is basically a government document and, in summary, I don't need permission to reproduce it and use it)
Kingrussell has indeed been convicted of all kinds of things, including playing his music too loud.
Here's what I find interesting: there's a "Larry Darnell Maxwell" who was convicted of 5th Degree Assault from an incident on 2/22/1990, it appears. This Larry is listed as living in "the 55411." See 27-CR-90-030117.
In the mortgage fraud conviction, the judge didn't grant bail, but in the course of arguments by defense and prosecution the judge said she wasn't willing to accept the argument Maxwell could be violent.
Well...isn't that the same guy? Can something be right there in the system and yet escape everybody's notice, or is there ANOTHER Larry Darnell Maxwell? I don't have Larry's birthday right here in front of me, so I'm just throwing it out there for discussion. (The judge in that case was Herbert Wolner)
Clues also turn up to the mysterious guy in the Chevy Magnum, who MIGHT be Larry Charles Smith, which defense would have you believe is the real mastermind, here.
Smith was convicted of speeding and not wearing a seatbelt. AHA!!!! Why would he be SPEEDING? No doubt to get away from the scene of some crime!!!
If only we can find the clues that lead us to the mysterious man in the Chevy Magnum, we can right this horrible miscarriage of justice and set Larry free!!!!
On case# 27-CR-90-030117 it lists "MAXWELL, LARRY DARNELL" with DOB 01/27/1955. While he was convicted for the "ASSAULT IN THE 5TH DEGREE" on 5/15/1990 he at least gotthe "ASSAULT IN THE 5TH DEGREE-FEAR" charged dismissed.
I'm very surprised the 5th Degree Assault thing didn't get brought up at all, especially when the defense was arguing to let Larry go free on bail. In fact, Judge Chu specifically said she didn't buy the argument Larry Maxwell could be violent. (She wouldn't allow him to go free for a number of OTHER reasons, however)
I don't remember ANYTHING about that 5th Degree Assault thing being mentioned. It appears that information was not in front of the prosecution at that particular moment and, well, you sure didn't hear it come from the lips of the defense!
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