Eddy County Sheriff's Update for November

Driving under suspension cases dominate court

Eddy County Sheriff Paul Lies reported that his department has filed 43 driving under suspension charges this year, nearly one a week. That is a 34% increase over last year, when 32 cases were filed. In this report alone, we have information about five individuals with driving under suspension charges, and four of them are known habitual offenders.

Charles Novotny of Sheyenne was sentenced for driving under suspension on Nov. 14. He was stopped on Nov. 5 for failure to display registration tabs. In addition to the suspension charge, he was also cited for driving without insurance. Novotny pleaded guilty on Nov. 14 and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 20 days suspended. He was also ordered to pay $725 in fines and fees and is subject to 360 days of unsupervised probation. This is Novotny’s fourth offense for driving under suspension in the past five years.

Lewis Blackbird of St. Michael was also sentenced for driving under suspension. This is his third offense. Blackbird was arrested on Oct. 29 after a traffic stop. He was also cited for failure to display registration tabs, driving without insurance and failure to wear a seatbelt. Hovey sentenced Blackbird to 30 days in jail, all suspended, and ordered to pay $550 in fines and fees. He is also subject to 360 days of unsupervised probation.

Benjamin Barragan of St. Michael was charged with his third driving under suspension offense on Sept. 28. He was initially stopped for speeding, but also received citations for open container and driving without insurance. Barragan pleaded guilty to the charge on Nov. 14, and he received a 5-day suspended jail sentence. He was also ordered to pay $450 in fines and fees for driving under suspension and $215 for the other three infractions.

Kalen Azure of Dunseith is also due in court for driving under suspension. The incident occurred on Aug. 13, when he was initially stopped for following too closely. Infractions of possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to wear a seatbelt were added to his list of offenses. He pleaded guilty to the drug charge on Nov. 14, and he was ordered to pay $100 in court fees. He is due in court for the DUS charge on Jan. 16.

Zachary T. Lee of New Rockford was sentenced for his fourth driving under suspension violation in five years. He was initially stopped for speeding on Nov. 9 along U.S. Hwy. 281. He pleaded guilty to the charge in court on Nov. 14, and he was sentenced to 30 days in jail with 20 days suspended, and ordered to pay $725 in fines and fees. He was also cited for driving without insurance. He was previously convicted of DUS in the City of Dickinson twice, one each in 2018 and 2019, and he has an open case for DUS in Stark County.

Six arrest warrants issued

Warrants have been issued for the arrest of Anthony D. Abrahamson of Ft. Totten, Rebecca Parsons of Jamestown, JoBeth Eagle of Cannonball, Monica Gonzalez of Fargo, Richardo M. Littleghost of St. Michael and Chianne Woodlock of New Rockford.

Abrahamson was charged with driving under suspension on June 16, and he failed to appear in court on Nov. 14 as ordered. Parsons failed to appear on an active case for felony possession of drug paraphernalia. Eagle was due in court for an order to show cause for failure to pay fines and fees from a 2018 driving under suspension case. Gonzalez was due for an order to show cause, hers for driving under suspension and drug possession in 2018. Littleghost failed to pay fines and fees on a drug paraphernalia conviction earlier this year and was also due in court for an order to show cause. Woodlock was summoned to court for violating driver’s license restrictions. Anyone with information about any of the above individuals is asked to contact the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office at (701) 947-5515 or text an anonymous tip to (701) 341-0534.

Seven scheduled to appear on Dec. 12

Carlos Mendez Jr. of Bismarck faces charges of driving under the influence (DUI) and possession of marijuana after an Aug. 10 traffic stop on Eddy County 1. He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Sept. 12, then failed to appear for his pre-trial conference on Nov. 14. He is currently detained in the Burleigh Morton Detention Center on felony charges of manufacturing a controlled substance (marijuana), child endangerment and theft, and misdemeanor charges of domestic violence-bodily injury and interference with a telephone during an emergency call. His preliminary hearing in that case is set for Dec. 30. A bench warrant appearance in the Eddy County case is set for Dec. 12.

Michael Speldrich of Sheyenne has been charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a felon or violent offender, both Class C Felonies, as well as misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. According to the complaint, Speldrich was stopped for speeding on Nov. 4 near 61st Avenue and County Road 9. The deputy found a meth pipe, marijuna paraphernalia, pills and several firearms, which he is prohibited from having based on his other convictions. This is Speldrich’s second arrest for possession of methamphetamine. He is due in court on Dec. 12.

Speldrich was also cited for two infractions, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia (marijuana). He pleaded guilty to those offenses in court on Nov. 4, and he was assessed $500 in court fees.

Louis Allmaras of New Rockford was arrested on Nov. 19 after a short vehicle pursuit. Allmaras was seen driving a vehicle westbound on Eddy County 9 when a deputy tried to stop him for outstanding warrants. After a short chase, Allmaras lost control of his vehicle at the intersection of Eddy County 9 and 63rd Avenue, and he was taken into custody. He now faces additional charges of driving under the influence, driving under suspension, and eluding police. He is due in court Dec. 12.

Kristina Ranisate of Grand Forks was arrested in front of Community Credit Union in New Rockford on Nov. 25 for driving under suspension and possession of methamphetamine paraphernalia. An Eddy County deputy observed her driving and knew her license to be suspended. She is due to make an initial appearance in court on Dec. 12.

Justin Bolton of Fargo was arrested by an Eddy County deputy after a short foot pursuit in New Rockford on Nov. 26. Bolton was identified by Deputy Hilger and had outstanding warrants out of Fargo and Foster County. When Deputy Hilger went to arrest Bolton, Bolton fled on foot and was apprehended several blocks later. Bolton now faces additional charges of possession of methamphetamine paraphernalia and resisting arrest. He is due in court Dec. 12.

Aaron Cavanaugh of St. Michael was arrested by the Fort Totten police on an Eddy County warrant. The warrant was issued for Cavanaugh after a reported theft of a four wheeler in Eddy County. Cavanaugh is expected to make his initial appearance on Dec. 12 in Eddy County.

Justin Burow of Jamestown was arrested on Nov. 29 after and Eddy County Deputy observed him driving a vehicle in New Rockford and exceeding the posted speed limit. Burow faces charges of driving under suspension and possession of methamphetamine paraphernalia after deputies found meth pipes in his vehicle. His initial appearance is set for Dec. 12.

Alicia Barnett of New Rockford is scheduled to appear in court on Dec.12 on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia (methamphetamine) and child neglect, both Class C Felonies, and ingestion of controlled substance (methamphetamine). North Dakota Parole and Probation and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search of Barnett’s residence in New Rockford, which resulted in the filing of the above charges. Barnett is currently on probation for drug related offenses out of Ward County.