Motorist runs car into Do it Best Hardware

Todd and Renae Duchscherer will have to complete some unexpected repairs to their Do it Best Hardware storefront.

On Thursday, July 29, at approximately 11:27 a.m. Deputy Jacob Roberts responded to a call of a vehicle crashing into a building in downtown New Rockford.

The driver of the vehicle, identified in the police report as James E. Ridge of New Rockford, was stationary on the west side of the curb facing west in front of the Do it Best Hardware on Eighth Street in New Rockford. He then accelerated over the curb and struck the storefront of Do it Best Hardware, breaking out a front window and pushing part of the east wall into the building.

Ridge told police he intended to back up the vehicle onto the street and go to the pharmacy, but he accidentally hit the accelerator, causing the vehicle to overtake the curb and strike the wall. Upon realizing that he had gone in the wrong direction, he put the vehicle in reverse and backed off the curb.

Do it Best employee Steve Ross was helping a customer at the checkout counter, which is right inside the east wall. Ross told the Transcript Thursday afternoon that a merchandise rack tipped over upon impact, and it landed on his back.

Local handyman Gene Kaul was on scene that afternoon to board up the damaged wall, and within a few hours the area was cleared and covered.

Ridge was not injured in the crash. There was no damage estimate available as of press time, and no criminal charges are expected to be filed in the incident.

Tovar sent to jail for reckless driving

Carlos E. Tovar of Devils Lake was ordered to serve time in jail after a June 23 incident. According to the criminal complaint, Tovar drove his vehicle through several miles of unharvested fields on land owned by Eddy County residents Lynn Homelvig and Cole Hendrickson. His tire tracks were found in Hendrickson's field, and he was observed driving through Homelvig's field before he was stopped by authorities near 64th Avenue and 27th Street. He pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor reckless driving charge in court on July 15, and he was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 15 days suspended. He was also ordered to pay $450 in fines and fees. Tovar was also charged with possession of marijuana, an infraction, and assessed a $100 fine.

Probation revoked for Schempp

Jeffrey Schempp of St. Michael will do prison time for leading authorities on a high speed chase east of Sheyenne last July and then violating the terms of his probation. Deputies attempted to execute a traffic stop on Schempp for speeding on July 1, 2020, but he fled in his car at speeds exceeding 100 mph on Eddy County 1, as he headed west towards Sheyenne. Just before he got to Sheyenne, he turned into the Warsing Dam drive, abandoned his car and ran into the bushes. He was first sentenced in February, when his 180-day prison sentence was suspended for two years probation after he pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges – fleeing a police officer, reckless driving and possession of drug paraphernalia.

At a probation revocation hearing on July 15, Judge Hovey revoked his probation for non-payment of fines and fees and for testing positive for methamphetamines. Schempp was then re-sentenced, and ordered to serve 360 days at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, with 10 days suspended. He will be subject to two years supervised probation upon his release from prison.

Lange avoids trial on drug charge

Christopher D. Lange of Carrington entered a last-minute guilty plea to avoid trial and jail time in a 2020 drug case. He was charged with Class C Felony possession of drug paraphernalia in July 2020 after authorities found him in possession of a syringe containing methamphetamine remnants. Authorities say he admitted to using meth at the time of the arrest. In court on July 20, Lange's two-year prison sentence was suspended for two years of supervised probation. He was also assessed $1,060 in fines and fees.

Two sentenced for driving under suspension

Sarah L. Possen of Jamestown pleaded guilty to driving under suspension. She was initially stopped for speeding along Hwy. 281 on May 3, then the officer determined that her license was suspended. Possen entered her guilty plea in court on July 15, and Judge Hovey handed down a 30-day suspended jail sentence. She is subject to 360 days of unsupervised probation and must pay $550 in fines and fees. This is Possen's third DUS charge in five years, as she was previously convicted in Jamestown Municipal Court in 2016 and Stutsman County in 2017. Possen was also cited for speeding and driving without liability insurance in the May incident.

Dillon McKay of Ft. Totten also pleaded guilty to driving under suspension. The incident occurred nearly two years ago, on July 14, 2019, in Sheyenne. He was caught driving near and in the parking lot near the Sheyenne bar. He was sentenced to 360 days of unsupervised probation and was ordered to pay $350 in fines and fees.

Peltier gets suspended sentence in vehicle theft case

A felony theft charge filed against Dyllan M. Peltier of Fargo, formerly of New Rockford, was reduced to a misdemeanor after he filed a written guilty plea with the court last month. Peltier stole a vehicle owned by Ryan Jacobson of Sheyenne from the NR-S School parking lot on Aug. 28, 2020. Jacobson's vehicle was found alongside the road on N.D. Hwy. 66 east of Bisbee, in Towner County, early the next morning. Local authorities also learned that a truck and trailer were missing from near Bisbee, which was later recovered in New Rockford.

With the guilty plea, Peltier's 360-day jail sentence was suspended for one year of unsupervised probation. He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution for Jacoson's vehicle.

Martin, Duda plead guilty to DUI

Jordan D. Martin of New Rockford was sentenced for driving under the influence. He was stopped near 2nd Ave and 9th Street in New Rockford on June 27 after he failed to use his turn signal. He was also cited for driving without a license, failure to display current registration and driving without liability insurance. He refused to submit to a chemical test at the scene.

Martin pleaded guilty to the DUI offense in court on July 15, and he was sentenced to 360 days of unsupervised probation, ordered to complete a chemical dependency evaluation and assessed $750 in fines and fees.

Jessica R. Duda of New Rockford pleaded guilty to her third DUI charge in seven years. She was arrested on March 22 along U.S. Hwy. 281. A breathalyzer test taken at the scene indicated that her blood alcohol content was 0.165%, twice the legal limit. The Class B misdemeanor charge was upgraded to a Class A, and she was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay $2,360 in fines and fees. She is subject to Electronic Home Monitoring for a period of 90 days, and must participate in the 24/7 program for two years.