WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 118 NO. 43 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola girls/boys track teams win conference. PAGE 14
Man shot in leg, gunman pleads not guilty BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
AMY LUESEBRINK-RAWLINGS |THE SUN
Osceola graduation
Osceola High School senior Salysh Yanez receives a flower prior to graduation on Friday night from Ms. Amanda Meyer.
An Osceola man who allegedly shot another man in the leg in the early morning hours of May 15 pleaded not guilty last Friday to felony charges of reckless injury, aggravated battery and endangering safety. Different versions of the story implicating Jeremy Wilson were told May 20 at his preliminary hearing, but from the three accounts, an outline of the scene emerged. Wilson was summoned to pick up a friend during a verbal fight with her boyfriend, with whom she lived. All three apparently knew that her
boyfriend did not like Wilson, believing he had a romantic interest in her. Wilson arrived at the house, climbing from his truck with an assault rifle. The two men confronted one another in the driveway. According to Wilson, via his attorney, they grappled for control of the weapon, at which point the other man was shot in the thigh. But the victim told Polk County investigator Andrew Vitalis that he was only trying to push the gun – which was initially pointed at his chest – aside when he was shot. Either way, the wound SEE SHOOTING, PAGE 11
SUZANNE LINDGREN |THE SUN
Jeremy Wilson, accused of reckless injury and other charges in a May 15 non-fatal shooting, watches his attorney argue his case at a preliminary hearing last Friday.
Suspected mailbox thief in custody Dozens of victims await justice after months of ongoing theft BY JESSICA DE LA CRUZ EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
Tibbetts
It’s been a slow, ffrustrating situation tto watch play out iin the Polk County C Courts, and a windiing path to justice ffor many victims. W Whether by inten-
tion or coincidence, the timeline of events that led to the accumulation of six separate criminal case filed within six months played out like a game of cat and mouse between Marlaina Tibbetts and the Polk County justice system. It ended with the words of Judge Jeffrey Anderson: “Society is not safe from this individual.” His May 13 decision to require an unaffordable $5,000 cash bond may finally bring an end to a growing and tangled list of theft-related charges against Tib-
betts, and an increasing list of victims. Tibbetts, who was originally accused of stealing a purse from a church Bible study group in November, was released after her initial appearance on December 7 on a $250 signature bond. Conditions of that bond were, in part, not to commit any further crimes. But while awaiting court proceedings, investigators were putting together a case that alleged SEE TIBBETTS, PAGE 10 SUBMITTED
Memorial Day observance
Remaining charges dismissed in river stabbing BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Bond violation charges were dismissed last week for Levi Acre-Kendall, the Cambridge man who fatally stabbed fellow fisherman Peter Kelly, St. Croix Falls, last spring at Interstate
State Park. The dismissal leaves Acre-Kendall free of any convictions related to the incident. After hearing Acre-Kendall’s case for self defense last December, a jury acquitted him of all homicide charges. But two felony counts of “bail jumping,” or violating the conditions of his bond,
remained. The charges were from last May, when Acre-Kendall was released on a bond, the details of which included no contact with friends he’d been with the night of the stabbing. SEE CHARGES, PAGE 11
The Dresser and St. Croix Falls Area Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post # 4186, and the Auxiliary will hold a Memorial Day Service to honor all Veterans of the community who have given their lives for our country. It will be at the Dresser VFW Post at 9:15 a.m. FFI: (715) 755-3292.
Early deadline
Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the deadline for advertsing or news releases for the June 1 edition of The Sun will be Thursday, May 26, at noon.
We are always accepting new patients Changing Lives ... One Smile At A Time
Dr. Rollyn Lee
NEWS 715-294-2314 editor@osceolasun.com
Dr. Heather Marks
ADVERTISING 715-294-2314 sales@osceolasun.com
www.river-place-dental.com CALL US TODAY!
715-268-2103
1030 River Place Drive, PO Box 106 • Amery, WI 54001
PUBLIC NOTICES 715-294-2314 sales@osceolasun.com
Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8 am - 5 pm • Friday, 7 am - 4 pm
SUBSCRIPTIONS 715-294-2314 office@osceolasun.com
BREAKING NEWS, UPDATES Whenever, wherever you are! Scan me with your smartphone