"Street Justice" Attempt Brings Charges Against Three Individuals...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

This question is based upon both allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law, and it's also hypothetical. Plus there's some clear parody elements I just made up for fun, and I think readers can tell what those are.

Now, with that caveat...

Suppose you're the girlfriend of a straight up thug and somebody robs you of your property. What do you do? Call 911? Of course not...

Extensive Criminal Complaint Documents Alleged Witness Tampering, Bloody War Between 1 9 Dipset And Tre Tre Crips Gang...

Ramondo Bumpus, fugitive, from a DOC mug shot, blog post by John Hoff

God knows I look at a lot of criminal complaints, and I've never seen the likes of this one. First of all, most criminal complaints are two pages at the most. This one is 14 pages.

The criminal complaint I have, click here for your very own copy, is against a guy named Hakeem Malik Dantae Flax, DOB 6/16/86, and alleged he engaged in two counts of accomplice after the fact, and two counts of witness tampering in the wake of a murder in 2006 of a guy named Christopher Lynch. (Flax is NOT pictured above, that's another guy involved in the plot, allegedly, whose name is Ramondo Bumpus)

Most of my readers probably caught wind of this story in the mainstream media, when indictments were announced against a whole slew of individuals for witness tampering, click here for online announcement by the prosecutor's office at the end of October. So there are apparently 10 criminal complaints that essentially outline the same facts of the murder of Lynch and witness tampering after the fact, years later.

Here's some background on the story.

In 2006, Christopher Lynch had the misfortunate of walking on the street with a cousin who was reportedly affiliated with the Tre Tre Crips gang, who are enemies of the 1 9 Dipset gang. (Note that it's "one nine," not "nineteen")

For the "crime" of walking on a public street with his gang-affiliated cousin, Lynch was...

RED HOT Information Revealed On North Talk Facebook Forum About Convicted Mortgage Fraudster Eric Yusef Mahmoud, Head Of SEED Academy/Harvest Prep...

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

According to information published by Lisa Clemons on the popular North Talk Facebook forum, a convicted felon named Eric Yusef Mahmoud is head of SEED Academy/Harvest Prep and also a convicted felon involved in mortgage fraud. These facts are already revealed in a Star Tribune article, click here. But more information about Mahmoud was revealed in the Facebook discussion, including allegations by Lisa Clemons that Mahmoud ripped off a black owned daycare center.

Clemons is the sister of controversial community activist Al Flowers. Posing a question in North Talk that concealed more than it revealed, Lisa asked, "Should a convicted felon be paid $173,000 a year and everyone keep quiet because he is black and some don't want to offend the black leadership?"

The little game about who she was talking about went on for a little while, but Lisa ultimately revealed who she was referencing and said much more...

Tarey Marquan Hill Brought Stolen St. Paul Car To North Minneapolis, Allegedly...

Stock photo, mortar test fire on a hill in Paktia Province, Afghanistan,
blog post by John Hoff

If I could write all the livelong day about arrested people named "Hill," I would never get desperate to find some kind of creative stock photo. I have an endless supply of images of dry, dusty hills and snowy hills and hills seen from aircraft, and hills morphing into mountains and snowy mountains tumbling valleyward to become brown, grassy foothills.

I'm just saying.

This is a follow up to yesterday's post about Tarey Marquan Hill, who seems to be racking up all kinds of criminal charges lately. In fact, he's in so much hot water that when I went looking for a criminal complaint about an auto theft arrest in North Minneapolis, instead I turned up a criminal complaint about BURGLARY.

But the auto theft complaint was still (as the X Files would say) "out there," and now it has come into my hands.

Click here for THAT criminal complaint.

According to the complaint, Hill (whose address is listed as 43 8th Ave. S. in Hopkins) was driving in a careless manner when MPD Officer Abduhlkadir ran the plate. (SSU684) The license plate check revealed the car had been recently stolen in St. Paul so a felony traffic stop was made...

Mortgage Fraudster Tynessia Thompson, Formerly Tynessia Snoddy, Is Out On Work Release...

MN DOC mug shot, therefore public domain, blog post by John Hoff

While hunting around for a stock photo on the MN DOC website, I found myself wondering, "What is mortgage fraudster Tynessia Thompson, formerly Tynessia Snoddy, doing these days? Is she still incarcerated?"

The answer, maddeningly, is no...

Jail Base Dot Com Announces Plans For New Facial Recognition App...

MN DOC mug shot, therefore public domain, blog post by John Hoff

Jail Base Dot Com is a competitor to this blog, but not really.

Frankly, I wish they'd compete even more effectively so I wouldn't have to publish the Hennepin County Jail Roster every month. If Jail Base Dot Com would simply start printing arrestee addresses as well as mug shots and charge info, I'd find it completely unnecessary to publish the county jail roster...a task I find uncreative and tedious at best, but very necessary.

Oh, well. Frankly the roster does wonders for my internet traffic, so it's not like I'm going to get worked up over the issue. I win either way. And I've been glad to see entities like Jail Base Dot Com carrying at least part of the load of promulgating information about arrests connected to North Minneapolis.

Now Jail Base is announcing exciting new plans to make a phone app available featuring facial recognition software...

Home Surveillance System Leads To Arrest Of Accused Burglar Tarey Marquan Hill...

Creative stock photo, (somewhere in Paktia Province, Afghanistan, it's a HILL,
get it?) blog post by John Hoff

Tarey Marquan Hill, DOB 3/17/94, can blame a little media entity called The Hopkins Patch for the fact I am writing about him. You see, dear reader, several times a day I perform a Google news search for anything involving "North Minneapolis," drafting off stories in the mainstream media. At least twice, now, The Hopkins Patch has come up in my search.

This spunky little media entity seems to be reporting on anything related to Hopkins. So if somebody from Hopkins is caught driving a stolen car in North Minneapolis, (as in the story linked HERE) the story is tagged with "North Minneapolis" and comes up in my search.

This, to me, is fascinating. I think virtually every criminal complaint written up by the Hennepin County Prosecutor is...

Dontevius Ahmad Catchings Charged With Gun Possession, Pistol Was Well Hidden But Cops Found It...

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

Dontevius Ahmad Catchings, DOB 2/17/92, was arrested in North Minneapolis on October 4 by members of the Hennepin County Special Enforcement Response Team (SERT) when a routine license plate check revealed he was driving with a revoked license. A search of the car (which reeked of marijuana) turned up a loaded .38 caliber pistol inside a sock, shoved up between the plastic molding and the dash frame in front of the vehicle's steering column.

Allegedly. And I might "allegedly" have two butt cheeks.

Click here for criminal complaint. 

One interesting question (for which I do not have the answer) is whether Dontevius Catchings is related to another accused Northside criminal with the same surname...

Hillside Avenue North Neighbors Are Unhappy With Halfway House On 1622 Hillside Ave. N., Particularly "Glen The Drunken Pissing Wanderer"

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

Oh, my word. Two posts in a row mentioning bodily excretions in the headline. This is not the kind of thing I like to write before the Christmas holidays.

So! There is a "halfway house" on 1622 Hillside Ave. N. which is operated by People Incorporated. As Mitt Romney put it so well, "Corporations are people, my friend" and in this case we see the reverse is true, too, and people are corporations.

One of the people staying at the halfway house is named Glen Something, spelling of "Glen" unknown. Glen Something has a habit of wandering around, intoxicated, and apparently mistaking the homes of nearby neighbors for his happy halfway house at 1622 Hillside Ave. N.

Believe me, attempts have been made to determine Glen's full name, including one resident spending quite a while combing the jail roster. Anybody who has the name of this Glen Something?

Johnny is hungry. Feed Johnny Thanksgiving leftovers. (Puppy dog face) 

Anway, just a couple days ago Glen tried to get into the door of the same house that was...

Security Camera Apparently Captured "Turd Burglars" In Midst Of Thanksgiving Day Break-In Attempt...

Contributed photo, blog post by John Hoff

Blame one of my anonymous commenters for the creative sobriquet given to the group of seven youth who broke into a home on Hillside Ave. N. on Thanksgiving Day and took a defiant, deliberately messy crap in the toilet.

Reportedly, the same group made failed, half-assed attempts to get into two other houses including the mansion eyed by Nicole Curtiss, television's Rehab Addict and a house on 22nd Ave. N. which had (OMG!) A SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEM.

Could this group of sad little clowns have any worse luck than they've already had? Well, I guess they could. Somebody could...

Hennepin County Jailhouse Roster, October 27 To November 25, 2012...

Contributed stock photo (Thanksgiving 2012 home invasion incident on
Hillside Ave. N., blog post by John Hoff

I feel terrible about this. While I have enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast and three days worth of leftovers, what have I given my little Googlebots to feast upon? Oh, sure, a couple really tasty articles about a Thanksgiving Day burglary, but when Googlebots think of a feast what they have in mind is the Hennepin County Jail Roster.

Forgive me, little Googlebots, and enjoy this belated holiday feast...

More Burglary Details Emerge As Neighbors Pitch In With Post-Break In Cleanup...

Photos, blog post by John Hoff

I wonder if they teach the clean up song in juvenile detention? The lyrics are fairly simple, as any parent of a toddler knows...

Clean up, clean up, everybody let's clean up
Clean up, clean up, put your things away

I don't know if the six juveniles arrested in a Thanksgiving burglary on Hillside Ave. N. ever had parents who sang them the "clean up" song or taught them appropriate social skills. They do, however, have quite an opportunity to learn a few things in juvenile detention. Word is they will most likely remain locked up until Monday because it's a holiday weekend. Word is some of the parents arrived at juvie and were unable to spring their children from detention.

It's going to be a long holiday weekend for those parents. Are they contemplating where, in the raising of their offspring, they've gone drastically wrong? Or are they just grinding their teeth in rage about how, supposedly, the system has wronged them and their incarcerated younguns, caught red-handed in the very act of burglarizing a house?

Meanwhile...

JNS BLOG SUPER EXCLUSIVE: Hillside Ave. N. Neighbors Rise Up Against Juvenile Burglary Ring On Thanksgiving Day, 6 Suspects Arrested, 1 Escaped...

Contributed photo, blog post by John Hoff

At about 12:30 PM on November 22, when most civilized Americans were tucking into their Thanksgiving turkey or vegetarian alternative, a citizen on Hillside Avenue North saw a group of seven young people advance in formation upon the house of an elderly female neighbor.

At first, it was thought the group was just disrespectfully cutting through the middle of the block. Mr Next Door Neighbor made a remark to his wife about how this kind of thing was upsetting and he was going to say something to the group...

Backhoe of Doom Parked In Front Of Old Fire And Ice Restaurant, Building Is Not Expected To Survive The Year...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

On October 22 this blog published news the old "Fire 'N' Ice" building on West Broadway would not survive the year; at least according to Dean Rose, owner of Broadway Liquor Outlet. My position is I will believe it when I see it, but right now I'm seeing a backhoe parked in front of the building radiating destructive eagerness.

With the old Butter Roll Bakery undergoing renovation, progress seems to be going gangbusters along West Broadway. But it is a case of two steps forward, one step back. The Hillside Chronicles blog, which has been more active of late, is reporting the Kentucky Fried Chicken on West Broadway became closed and boarded out of the blue. 

Could it be there actually is a maximum saturation point for fried food joints on West Broadway?

As much as I don't like to see the loss of a business on West Broadway, the departure of this fast food chain may ultimately be a welcome development. 

Northside Revitalization Progress At The Old Butter Roll Bakery...

Photo by Eric Johnson of Irving Inquisition, blog post by John Hoff

The old Butter Roll Bakery on West Broadway, which was purchased recently by Charmaine Wahlstrom, saw some exterior brickwork done around November 16 as documented in the photo above. Northside resident Eric Johnson, commenting on the popular North Talk Facebook forum, said, "(The) timing seems strange, but I'll take it. Progress is progress."

Fifteen hours ago as I write these words, Wahlstrom posted a picture on Facebook showing the old Butter Roll sign was down...

A Traditional Thanksgiving Bounty Of TJ Waconia Court Documents, Including Transcript Of Criminal Sentencing...

Contributed photo, blog post by John Hoff

As I think of all the many things I have to be thankful for, somewhere in the Top 100 has to be the fact the TJ Waconia fraudsters (Thomas Balko and Jonathan Edward Helgason) are locked away in Duluth federal prison where they can't hurt my neighborhood anymore. I hope they are being treated well enough wherever they are, with worn and chipped plastic trays of turkey-like meat and something that might be potatoes but then again, it might be stuffing.

No wait. I think it's supposed to be cranberries.

It was more than a month ago when I subscribed to the federal PACER system at the urging of a local attorney, who wanted me to get my own federal court system documents instead of begging them off him all the time. When I first took a whirl around PACER-o-topia, one of the first cases I wanted to explore was the plea deal and prison sentence for Helgason and Balko...

JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: More Information About "Two For The Price Of One" Murder Day, And Some Free Advice To Suburbanites About Hanging Around In A North Minneapolis Alley Apparently Up To No Good...

Facebook tribute image, used under First Amendment Fair Comment and Criticism

The headline on the Star Tribune story reads, "2 slayings in north MInneapolis in one day." (Yes, there's a minor typo in the word "Minneapolis" but I reproduced the headline exactly)

Of those two slayings, the death of Gianni Gossitt isn't terribly surprising, as unfortunate as that may sound. He has a minor criminal record and moved here from Chicago nine years ago, according to the Strib, part of a group of nine siblings.

Unknown if the gun that shot him was also a nine millimeter.

Gianni's Facebook profile isn't very developed but shows...

Falling In Love All Over Again With Avenue Eatery On West Broadway...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

Is "love" too strong a word to describe a corner coffee and sandwich shop which, as documented by numerous media entities, has seen its share of ups, downs, and then up again?

No, "love" is not too strong a word. Not when this coffee shop possesses the first paperless receipt right-to-my-email system that I've laid eyes upon outside of (I think it was) Office Max. Not when I ask for a chai frap and the dude behind the counter (not even wearing a hoodie like what happened there a few years ago) says it's not on the menu, but he'll try to make it; and he not only succeeds but says there's enough "leftovers" for free seconds.

Not when the sign on the door advertises free WiFi. Oh, sure, the signal was crowded by a bunch of young people who appeared to be doing their homework but I'll take young people doing homework anytime over listless, glassy-eyed no accounts paying too much attention to the street traffic right outside. (Olympic Cafe, cough cough)

While taking the photo above, I mentioned to the clerk how the old Avenue Eatery location had plastic cups made from biodegradable corn starch polymer, and how cool was THAT? And a place so proud of its paperless system (they were obviously proud) would probably do well to at least look into that kind of biodegradable plastic cup, right?

Avenue Eatery is doing something right. I hope this place hangs on.

Keep up the good work, folks. 

Tarrence Antwon Brown Came In Second In A Foot Race With MPD, His Prize Is A Charge Of Gun Possession...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

A short while ago I asked for a criminal complaint in regard to Tarrence Antwon Brown but, by mistake, I received a complaint for another guy named Brown whose crime took place in South Minneapolis.

So I wrote about the OTHER guy named Brown, who committed (allegedly) felonious dry humping. Then I created the world's first internet "meta tag" for felonious dry humping.

But now I finally have the criminal complaint I wanted all along for Tarrence Antwon Brown, who also goes by "Terrence." (Not so much an alias as a spelling variation) According to a criminal complaint filed back in May, Brown fled on foot when he saw a police officer and tossed aside a pistol during the chase.

Brown is a convicted felon and not allowed to play with guns...

Cab Driver Was "Ready To Die" As Mohamud Ahmed Abdi Pointed A Pistol, Allegedly...

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

Astute readers might notice a pattern in the criminal complaints I blog about. The alleged perpetrators tend to have surnames near the beginning of the alphabet. Honestly, I can barely work my way through the letter "E" on the jail roster before new (alleged) no-accounts take their place and I start all over at the top. I am confident that down near the letter Z, rampant serial murder is being committed without being written about by me or anybody else.

I kid, but you get my point.

So, moving on to accused would-be robber Mohamud Ahmed Abdi, he was charged on November 1 with second degree assault while using or possessing a firearm. Click here for a copy of the criminal complaint. 

There is no robbery charge simply because...

Criminal Complaint For Eric Paul Boone, Who Allegedly Crippled A Toddler, GUESS WHICH SLUMLORD BOONE BELONGS TO AS A TENANT, ALLEGEDLY? I Will Give You A Clue, It Starts With Steven F. Meldahl...

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

Numerous mainstream media entities have published details about the horrific crime allegedly committed by Eric Paul Boone: crippling a girl aged 21 months.

Somewhere amid the scores of stories, some news entity may have made the criminal complaint available to readers but, if so, I haven't run across it. For those interested, click here for your own copy.

The address listed on the criminal complaint is...

Shelby Ivan Charles "Touched" A Foster Child, Promptly Confessed, Allegedly...

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

CORRECTED POST, SEE ADDENDUM AT BOTTOM

According to a recent criminal complaint, click here, a woman with the initials "TC" was awakened on October 21 by Shelby Ivan Charles. Though the criminal complaint doesn't say, based on the woman's initials and other facts in the complaint it would appear Shelby Ivan Charles is her husband. It would also appear Shelby and his wife are involved (or WERE involved) in foster care of children at their home located at 724 Thomas Avenue North.

Shelby had something to confess to his wife...

Perennial Also Ran Roger Smithrud Also Ran For Hennepin County Commissioner, District 2, WHO KNEW?

Image used under First Amendment fair comment and criticism, blog post by John Hoff

Roger Smithrud, a perennial losing candidate for local office, apparently ran as a write-in for Hennepin County Commissioner, District 2, the race in which Linda Higgins and Blong Yang were the (how to phrase this?) real candidates. This blog previously reported on Smithrud's participation in the primary and how Smithrud had a VERY NICE SIGN. 

Incredibly, Smithrud ran as a write-in. I say "incredibly" because, well, his write-in candidacy was so far below the radar that garden slugs were the only ones who observed it passing by and, second, Smithrud can't even win when he's on the ballot so why bother running as a write-in?


"Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the lizard people are not running for Hennepin County Commissioner #2, so go write in Roger Smithrud," was apparently his slogan. His campaign literature goes on to state...

Derek Burgess Was All, Like, "I'm Gunna Shoot A Motherf***er Today" Apparently As An Encore To Twice Beating Up His Pregnant Baby Mama, Allegedly...

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

 The criminal complaint doesn't say so but strongly implies Derek Angelo Burgess, DOB 2/15/89, isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Click here for the criminal complaint and judge for yourself.

On June 9, police responded to a report of a man with a gun at 301 24th Ave. N., a property owned by Proton Investments, Inc. Their less-than-stellar property management is a recurring theme here at Johnny Northside Dot Com.

According to the criminal complaint, Derek Burgess (who also goes by Derek Angelo Cobbin) came walking out of the residence when his seven months pregnant baby mama arrived with her own mother and sister. The pregnant woman had just been to the doctor. Derek walked up to the three women, pointed a gun at them, and announced, "I'm going to shoot a motherf***er today."

Why Derek felt that way is...

Five More Stories By "Rusty," A North Minneapolis Writer...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

On Halloween I published some stories by "Rusty," who lives in North Minneapolis and writes funny, colorful tales about his life. Encouraged by what he described as "fifteen minutes of fame" on this blog, Rusty sent me five more stories.

Only one of the stories is about NORTH Minneapolis but I say the author is the neighborhood connection. I am happy to encourage the arts and, as a prolific writer myself, I believe the kind of personal introspection and historical record produced by this kind of writing is beneficial to both self and society.

So what the heck? Without further ado...

The Ever Shifting Appearance Of John James Fulkerson, And Other Thoughts About Level Three Sex Offender Concentration In North Minneapolis...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

Ask and you shall receive, even if what you're asking for is something disgusting like more information about Level Three sex offenders.

Starting back in 2010, this blog began to create "permanent public forum" blog postings about individual sex offenders, with two main purposes. First, I wanted to preserve photos of the offenders as their appearance changes. Maddeningly, the Department of Corrections website and sites like the Hennepin County Jail roster are not "crawled" by Googlebots and so a lot of offender information is not preserved unless this blog or others make a deliberate archiving effort.

So there's one thing. Historical preservation.

Secondly, and perhaps this was my primary purpose, I was hoping information about these offenders would begin to seep out of nooks and crannies as victims of the offenders and other interested parties ran their names through search engines and, through the magic of Google, ended up right here on this blog. Then, in a spirit of selfless civic citizenship, these citizens would start sending me PDFs of court documents and other detailed info that I could publish. The information would drop into my lap free and easy like low hanging fruit and I wouldn't have to spend hours, days, weeks at the courthouse digging up old records.

That second purpose hasn't worked out as well...

Vodka Bottle Fingerprints Helped Apprehend Shateke Jamal Bruce In Terrifying Burglary Against Two Northside Senior Citizens...

Photo recreation and blog post by John Hoff

Shateke Jamal Bruce, click here for mugshot, has achieved roughly 5 seconds of fame for sparking the first ever Johnny Northside crime scene photo recreation.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County, click here for that document, Bruce was involved in a burglary on the 1600 block of Irving Ave. N. in which the residents of the home were detained and terrified...

Deandre Brown Is Accused Of Criminally Stupid Burglary And Felonious Dry Humping (Not North Minneapolis Related)

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

I received this guy's criminal complaint by accident when I was asking for a complaint against another guy whose last name is Brown. But I believe everything in the universe happens for a reason and "God hates stupid." So I'm going to write about him anyway even though the entire incident is related to South Minneapolis.

Deandre Antwain Eugene Brown, who is currently incarcerated in the Hennepin County jail, is accused of a burglarizing a house only a block from where he lived and "dry humping" a woman who was inside the house. Brown announced he was going to rape the woman but she refused to remove her clothes. The terrifying but incredibly stupid incident happened in front of the woman's 4-year-old daughter.

Details are found in a recently filed criminal complaint, click here.

According to the complaint...

If A Discarded North Minneapolis Mattress Could Talk, What Would It Say?

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

A couple days ago, I drove around various North Minneapolis alleys with a friend of mine who was showing off his 311 Facebook app.

Dilapidated fence? BAM!

Debris filling a backyard? BAM!

Graffiti? BAM, BAM, BAM!  My friend was sending reports to 311 so fast his phone froze up and had to rest for a minute.

Then we came upon a mattress emblazoned with a message in Sharpie marker, and the message was as follows:

Jamil Joshua Eason Charged Over Death In Northside House Fire...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

According to a press release from the Hennepin County Prosecutor, Jamil Joshua Eason, 18, has been charged in the death of a man found inside a burning North Minneapolis house. The Star Tribune reported this story 49 minutes ago as I type these words, but did not include a link to the actual criminal complaint. (I suspect the STrib may put it up later)

Here is the criminal complaint, click here. 

A blog post to follow this one will dig more deeply into the name of both the alleged perp and victim, as well as the address in question; 3838 Humboldt Ave. N.

According to the news release by the prosecutor, Jay Arthur Rosio, 45, was found face down on the floor and dead when firemen entered the burning house. A cell phone and computer taken from the house led to Eason's arrest.

No permanent address is listed for Eason on the criminal complaint.

Victor Gaddy Civil Cases Include "Gaddy vs. $700 In US Currency"

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

A recent blog post about Victor Gaddy has drawn a number of commenters and my stats show it's currently the most highly-read article on this blog. The second most read article, currently, is also a blog post about Victor Gaddy, click here. As most readers will recall, Gaddy was shot by St. Paul police but had connections to North Minneapolis.

One of my blog commenters claimed Gaddy was the father to ELEVEN children.

I don't know if that assertion is true, but it sent me running to check online court information about any civil case involving Victor Gaddy...

Whatever Became Of Good Old Thomas Wayne Evenstad, The "Chat Line Rapist" Who Used To Work For Attorney Jill Clark? Hold On To Your Shorts, Readers!

DOC mug shot, therefore public domain, blog post by John Hoff blogging from an election night party 

My thanks to an anonymous commenter who dropped a little nugget of information about Thomas Wayne Evenstad, the convicted "chat line rapist" who is now running his own "consulting" enterprise to assist individuals detained under Sexual Violent Predator laws and (this is NOT written in the parody font) describes himself on Linked In as the inventor of a type of boxer shorts "perfect for men with light to moderate incontinence" as well as other medical issues. 

Evenstad first turned up in my world as a minor character dubbed "The Beltless Beta Male." He was a pleasant, overly-smiling assistant to notoriously loony attorney Jill Clark during the "True JACC" case involving leadership of the Jordan Area Community Council. One day Evenstad appeared in court without a belt and kept hitching up his pants like Gomer Pyle. Due to his bowing and scraping deference to Jill Clark plus his aforementioned beltlessness, I dubbed him the "Beltless Beta Male" and the nickname stuck, as my nicknames often do.

Here's what I wrote about Evenstad back in June of 2009. 

In retrospect, it was eerily prescient...

JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Parole Officers Were Warned To Avoid West Broadway During Funeral For Victor T. Gaddy...

Contributed photo, "Be Safe From Gunfire Wear Blaze Orange," blog post by
John Hoff

Victor T. Gaddy, who died in a blaze of police gunfire in St. Paul, was laid to rest on November 2 after a funeral at Shiloh Temple on West Broadway. The day before the funeral, an "advisory" email went around to probation officers.

The email speaks for itself and was as follows...

JNS BLOG EDITORIAL: Recycle Your Unwanted Votes For Judicial Offices, Show Write-In Support For Chief Justice Lorie Gildea...

Creative stock photo, it kind of LOOKS like a court house, doesn't it? Blog post by John Hoff

As I wrote in an earlier blog post, there are a lot of obscure candidates on the ballot for judge positions as well as Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisors. I've already offered a creative solution to "recycling" your vote for the "soil guys" by voting either for this blogger or Joe Dirt.

Now here's my creative suggestion about how to handle all those judges running for office whose names you are unlikely to know 80 or 90 percent of the time. I'm suggesting write-in "votes of support" for  Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea who, if she doesn't win, deserves to be in another judge position as quickly as possible...

Two Years Since The Death Of Major Topps, And Big Talking Blogger Don Allen Still Hasn't Delivered The Answers He Promised...

Creative stock photo, BABY JESUS WANTS TO GET TO THE 
BOTTOM OF THIS, blog post by John Hoff 

Two years ago to this very day, I wrote about the death of Major Topps on my blog and suggested now public discussion could begin about this man including widespread rumors about him in the community which had crystallized in a nickname for the man, a not-quite-tongue-in-cheek play on words with his name.

MINOR BOTTOMS.

Shortly before the death of Major Topps, there was an incredibly odd assault which took place in a church. I did what I could to dig up information about that, click here and also here. I wanted the full story to be told and I didn't care who told it, this blog or some other media. So I was happy to publish something about how Paul Walsh of the Star Tribune said, "If people will go on the record about Major Topps, I will talk to them..."

One particularly annoying aspect of this story is blogger Don Allen's role. In his typical grandiose way, Allen announced (click here) he would be getting answers about Major Topps death and "issues" surrounding the death. Allen mentioned he would get help from the "National Research Institute" in this quest for answers.

(Putting my hand to my face to hide a smile)

What is this National Research Institute? What is its relationship to the so-called International Business News Network, which is...

JNS BLOG EDITORIAL: Recycle Your Unwanted Votes By Electing Johnny Northside As Soil And Water Conservation District Supervisor...

Photo of the "Lake Arian monster," Combat Outpost Arian, Afghanistan, 
blog post by John Hoff

You know what voting is like? It's like being invited to a party with all sorts of famous and interesting people like President Obama, Mitt Romney, Senator Amy Klobuchar. Served up at the party are gourmet treats upon which you feast.

Voter identification hot dish.

Marriage Amendment double layer cake.

But toward the end of the party, a bunch of people you don't know arrive and start to dominate your time and attention...

"Rabid Anti-Police Critic" Chuck Turchick Responds To JNS Blog, Says He's Contemplating Pardoning The US Government For What They Did To Him Over Vietnam Era Draft Office Incident...

Stock photo, (Camp Shelby, MS) blog post by John Hoff

Charles "Chuck" Turchick responded by email to my October 23 blog post about him, which discussed his felony conviction for breaking into a draft office in Alexandria, Minnesota and speculated (not without firm basis) that Chuck's criminal conviction and incarceration over that early 1970s incident is why he's so...

Well, so Chuck Turchick.

Chuck didn't ask for the email to remain private and, though he didn't ask, appears to have intended it for publication. So I am printing his entire email, below, fair and square. Along the way I will respond to Chuck's written assertions to prevent his unique and hippy-esque form of self-delusion from further propagating itself into the blogosphere without correction...

JNS BLOG EDITORIAL: Why I Voted For Blong Yang Today Solely Over The Issue Of Level Three Sex Offender Concentration In North Minneapolis...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

Casting my ballot early today, I agonized a little bit and then threw my support to Blong Yang over Linda Higgins for Hennepin County Commissioner, District 2.

I did this solely on the basis of the issue of Level Three Sex Offender (L3SO) concentration in our neighborhood and not for any other issue or reason. I like both of these candidates and North Minneapolis will be well served by either of them, including on this specific issue. However, here is my rationale for voting the way I did.

First of all, don't look now but North Minneapolis is about to be overwhelmed with more Level Three Sex Offenders.

Oh, you think we have a lot of them NOW? Think of what we have now as numerous sappers who are inside the wire, but the enemy is about to send an entire battalion our way...

Early Absentee Voting Looked A Little Light In Hennepin County Today...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

I voted early because I plan to be out of town on election day, at least until after the polls close. I hope to make it back for some victory parties and/or crying in beer parties, whichever applies. Minnesota is one of 32 states that allows early voting in person, which is called "in person absentee voting" in our state.

If you're there in person, how can you be absent? OK, call it whatever you like as long as my ballot is counted. At the polling location, I didn't witness any interrogation over excuses about why people wouldn't be in town on election day. Whatever you say is apparently good enough, though I suspect if you check the "due to emergency quarantine" box you might get some odd looks.

At about 1:45 PM today at the Hennepin County Government Center, there were approximately 20 people in line not counting talkative small children. In light of the fact this location is serving all of Hennepin County...

Police Reportedly Get Their Man Last Night At 33rd And Humboldt...

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

Last night around 9 PM, at least six squad cars converged at 33rd and Humboldt Avenues North, with police setting up a wide cordon over an area of several blocks. Police were seen combing a yard nearby and at least one police dog was involved in the action.

After a while, officers came walking up and stood talking near their squad cars, and a visibly excited police dog was put in the back of the K9 unit. One male officer could be seen engaged in what seemed a dramatic "reenactment" of recent events, showing how he (or another officer) had pointed a rifle and some words were spoken. This blogger approached asked what was up and one female officer said, in an apologetic tone, that due to "privacy concerns" they couldn't speak.

I asked if there was anybody "senior" who could tell me anything about what was up and a male police officer, tall, with very short blond hair perhaps in his 40s said, "A guy ran. We helped catch him."

It's hard not to assume the action last night at 33rd and Humboldt was some kind of spillover from a shooting incident around 3:44 AM that same morning which was mentioned on the Facebook group Police Clips as follows.  Note the incident on the 3300 block of Girard Ave. N. would be just a block from the 3300 block of Humboldt Ave. N.

Police Clips · 6,816 like this

Yesterday at 3:44am · 

• Mpls Police and Fire, along with EMS, are responding to a shooting at 33xx Girard Ave N. Shot Spotter picked up shots and it sounds like as MPD arrived to investigate they got the 911 Call of a Victim hit multiple times. (Possibly non-life threatening)