Embezzling financial planner pleads guilty

A financial services representative pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis to defrauding an elderly and vulnerable couple in southeastern Minnesota of more than $400,000 and using the money for numerous luxuries.

Joseph W. Hughes, 46, of Stewartville, Minn., admitted to mail fraud and tax evasion in connection with the scheme to defraud the couple from the Mower County community of Elkton.

Hughes used the couple's money to buy and refurbish cars, pay tuition, make mortgage payments, pay off "substantial personal debt," buy jewelry and pay country club membership fees, according to a federal indictment.

He faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the mail fraud count and five years on the tax-evasion count, and he has already forfeited to the government a 1969 car that he bought with the couple's money.

The illegal shooting of a male black bear near Ely, Minn., has prompted rewards for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the incident. The Humane Society of the United States and the society's Wildlife Land Trust are offering a $2,500 reward in connection with the shooting June 9 near Eagle's Nest Township, west of Ely. Also, the Turn In Poachers program in Minnesota is offering an additional $300.

The bear was shot in the hip area and is expected to survive.

Under Minnesota law, shooting a bear out of season carries a maximum penalty of $3,000 and a year in jail.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the 24-hour Turn In Poachers hot line at 1-800-652-9093.

Hours after police were sent to a house after a report of gunfire, firefighters were at the same address Tuesday morning dousing a fire that was deliberately set.

The blaze on the 2600 block of Oliver Avenue N. is officially "an act of arson," said Sgt. Sean McKenna of the Minneapolis Department's Arson Unit.

Inspectors found a valve had been removed from the natural gas stove in the kitchen. The natural gas migrated to an ignition source that caused the back side of the house at 2606 Oliver to explode around 6:30 a.m., McKenna said.

The house was destroyed. No one was injured., and the homes to the north and south were slightly damaged, he said.

The house at 2606 Oliver has been a trouble spot this year. Records show that police have been called there 17 times this year, including this morning's incident.

An Osseo man was charged Tuesday with touching and sending sexually explicit text messages to a 13-year-old girl.

Thomas Richard Hines, 26, allegedly sent text messages to the girl regularly over the past few months, and touched her after school recessed for the summer. He faces up to 10 years in jail and a $20,000 fine.

The girl's mother said she thought her daughter had a crush on Hines and had worked as a baby sitter for his family.

According to the complaint, the girl said Hines touched her breasts through her clothing. In a taped statement, Hines admitted to cuddling with the girl and rubbing her breasts and vaginal area over her clothing.

A woman from St. Michael, Minn., died early Tuesday in a one-vehicle accident on a highway in Bloomington, the State Patrol said. Laura M. Miller, 20, died from head injuries suffered when her car rolled over around 5:45 a.m. on northbound Hwy. 169 near Highwood Drive, the patrol said. She was thrown from the vehicle. The accident investigation is ongoing.

The Minnesota State Patrol is asking for help in finding the driver of a vehicle involved in a fatal accident Saturday morning on Interstate Hwy. 94 in St. Paul.

Rosalie F. Gonsor, 36, of St. Paul, was killed and five others were injured when the Nissan Pathfinder she was riding in rolled over around 10:15 a.m. in the westbound lanes near Prior Avenue.

"The State Patrol is interested in any information which may lead to the identification of another vehicle -- a red or maroon passenger car -- that may have unknowingly made contact with a black Nissan Pathfinder," Lt. Mark Peterson said.

Anybody with information about the crash or the vehicle involved is asked to call the State Patrol at 651-779-5910.

A Winona man could not save his house from burning down, but he was determined to rescue his computer.

Nicholas Christopher Guy, 53, defied orders from firefighters to stay back and twice ran into his burning house. He got the computer and a citation for obstructing a fire scene and disorderly conduct, said Deputy Chief Tom Williams.

Fire crews encountered an upset and intoxicated Guy when they arrived at his residence on the 400 block of E. 2nd St. Sunday evening. They ordered him to stay behind the perimeter and he complied for a while. But Guy ran inside when nobody was watching him, Williams said.

Police and firefighters chased after Guy, who emerged carrying his PC tower, Williams said.

"He put everybody in harm's way," Williams said. "We have no idea what was on that computer, but it piques your interest."

Guy was cited and booked into the Winona County Jail and then released. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 28.

The Wright County Sheriff's Office has identified a woman killed in a one-vehicle accident Friday in Marysville Township as Terrina Lynn Stark, 20 of Annandale. She died just before 8 p.m. when her car left County Road 8 and went into the ditch and struck a tree near SW. 53rd Street, the Wright County Sheriff's Office said. The incident remains under investigation.

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