Public safety briefs: Maple Grove teen killed in Colorado fall

A Maple Grove teen has died in a Colorado hiking accident.

The Boulder County coroner said Carter Christensen, 17, died in a fall Sunday evening in Chautauqua Park near Boulder. Christensen was climbing alone without ropes or gear when he fell, possibly more than 100 feet, suffering "massive traumatic injuries."

Christensen posted a selfie from his climb on social media about an hour before he fell. His family released the photo. His family said he had just graduated from high school, was visiting friends in Colorado and planned to enlist in the Navy.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The number of deaths on Minnesota roads surpassed the 200 mark over the weekend, the state's Office of Traffic Safety said Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, 203 people had died in crashes, which is 23 fewer than at this time last year. In 2016, the state recorded its 200th death on July 25. This year's deaths include 144 people in motor vehicles, 32 motorcyclists, 20 pedestrians, one bicyclist and six people in other types of vehicles. Alcohol was cited as a factor in 52 deaths, while speed was a factor in 48 deaths. Motorists not wearing seat belts accounted for 41 deaths, while distracted driving accounted for seven.

Preliminary numbers from last year show that 392 people were killed in traffic crashes in Minnesota, the Office of Traffic Safety said.

A St. Paul teenager was charged Tuesday with shooting a gas station attendant in the stomach during an apparent robbery over the weekend.

Jason L. Sam, 16, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count each of first-degree assault, second-degree assault, possession of ammunition or an assault weapon while under 18, possession of ammunition or a firearm and first-degree aggravated robbery.

Sam's alleged getaway driver, Josmar B. Najera, 18, of St. Paul, was charged with one count each of aiding an offender and aiding an offender to avoid arrest.

Police believe Sam, whom prosecutors aim to try as an adult, was the gunman in the shooting of a clerk at the SuperDay Gas Station, 2525 7th St., in St. Paul on Sunday. The clerk survived.

CHAO XIONG

Brandon P. Dellwo, 29, of Shakopee, was charged Tuesday in Rice County District Court with criminal vehicular homicide. Dellwo remains jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail ahead of an Oct. 3 court appearance.

While in the hospital being treated for his own injuries, medical personnel and a state trooper heard Dellwo say multiple times, "I just killed someone," the criminal complaint read. Law enforcement then took Dellwo to jail, where a preliminary breath test revealed his blood alcohol content to be 0.266 percent, more than three times the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

The crash occurred about 12:10 a.m. Sunday on Hwy. 19 between Lonsdale and Northfield, killing Kacy E. Merseal, 29, of Des Moines.

PAUL WALSH

A student and a cabdriver were hurt during two robberies that happened just 10 minutes apart on the University of Minnesota campus early Tuesday, officials said.

About 10 minutes later, two men got into the back seat of a taxicab near TCF Bank Stadium. The masked bandit implied he had a gun and demanded money. The cabdriver surrendered his valuables. The suspects took off on foot. The cabdriver was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

TIM HARLOW

A man who beat a store clerk with a hammer during a robbery will serve just over nine years in prison, the Hennepin County attorney's office said Tuesday.

Andrew Hodge, 26, pleaded guilty to a Dec. 31 robbery of a small grocery store in the 3700 block of Portland Avenue S. in Minneapolis. He agreed to the 110-month sentence that came with the guilty plea to first-degree assault. In return for his plea, charges of burglary and aggravated robbery were dropped.

Hodge admitted to breaking into the store just after 6 a.m. That triggered an alarm that notified police and a store manager. The manager got to the store before police and confronted Hodge as he stole items. Hodge used a hammer to strike him in the face and stopped only when police arrived. Hodge fled but was caught shortly afterward.

Tim Harlow

A homeless man jailed for four months on a rape charge has been released and the case dismissed because the St. Paul woman who made the allegation has "medical limitations" and is unable to testify, according to court records.

Luke M. Johnson, 23, of Billings, Mont., had been charged in Ramsey County District Court with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the alleged late March incident.

More than four months later, Assistant County Attorney Tanya O'Brien said that "due to medical limitations, the state's material witness, the victim ... is not able to testify." Johnson's trial had been set to start last week. O'Brien did not disclose specifics about the 24-year-old's limitations.