701 Rundown: May 29, 2023

Here’s your weekly rundown of some of the most interesting headlines from newspapers across North Dakota.

Vandewalker pleads guilty and is sentenced in crude oil theft

On May 11, Joseph Vandewalker pleaded guilty to a Class A felony of conspiracy to commit theft exceeding $50,000 and a Class C felony for trafficking in stolen property.

Vandewalker is one of four men charged in the theft of $2.4 million of crude oil last year.

According to court records, Vandewalker and three other individuals were charged in connection to the theft, or “skimming,” of crude oil in June 2022.

Vandewalker was a crude oil truck driver at the time, and he was found by police to be one of the top two drivers in the illegal skimming operation.

Law enforcement cited him as delivering 10 percent of the stolen crude oil deliveries.

According to bank records obtained by law enforcement thanks to a search warrant, Vandewalker received $58,325 from one of the convicted members of the group for his part in the incident.

In his opening argument, State’s Attorney Skarda said, “In this case, Mr. Vandewalker conspired with several others in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from Crestwood and other oil producers. There’s at least $2.4 million that are unaccounted for, but due to a lack of bookkeeping from company mergers, it’s likely there was a lot more stolen.”

The Class A felony carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and/or a $20,000 fine.

The Class C felony carries a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $10,000, or both.

(Story by Kristen Jones, McKenzie County Farmer)

Belcourt girl is first ever to undergo medical procedure

The first hint of the struggles young Rory Davis would have to deal with came during a standard ultrasound exam.

The images showed that the baby’s “heart looked a little different.”

A follow-up procedure confirmed something was amiss, and a C-section delivery was ordered.

“When she was born, she wasn’t breathing on her own,” said Eric Lambert, her mother. “They took her to the newborn intensive care unit immediately. We only got to see her for a few seconds.”

Months of difficulties for the entire family followed.

“Rory has two profoundly rare conditions – both her type of congenital heart defect in addition to a complete sternal cleft, commonly called an absent sternum,” said Dr. Jason Anderson of the Mayo Clinic.

“I am not aware of another case of a child requiring a cardiac intervention in the setting of an absent sternum,” he added.

“She was born without a chest wall. The ribs did not extend around from the side, and there was no sternum over the front of the chest.”

Any pressure over the middle of Rory’s chest would be like placing it directly against her heart, significantly complicating any attempted surgery, and making any usual surgery impossible.

Thankfully, though, the team at Mayo invented a new procedure and got the job done.

“The cardiac procedure Rory underwent was the first time this procedure had been done at Mayo Clinic and one of the first to ever occur in the country,” Dr. Anderson said. “Her case was a resounding success.”

(Story by Jason Nordmark, Turtle Mountain Star)

Grafton man leads officer on high-speed chase

Devin Ernest Aguilar, 35, of Grafton is being held at Walsh County Law Enforcement Center on a $40,000 cash appearance bond on a pair of felony charges.

The charges stem from a police chase on May 5.

Walsh County Deputy Hunter Stauss was notified by an undercover police officer that Aguilar was traveling south on Hwy. 81 toward Minto.

He also knew that he had one felony and two misdemeanor warrants out for his arrest.

Once Stauss pulled behind Aguilar on Wilson Avenue in Minto in the middle of the afternoon he hit his lights and siren. Instead of pulling over, Aguilar mashed the gas pedal.

According to the arrest affidavit, Aguilar went into the oncoming lane twice and passed three vehicles and two motorcyclists, all within city limits.

Once he was out of town, speeds reached 110 miles per hour as he continued to pass cars and enter oncoming traffic. The chase only ended after Aguilar crashed his vehicle into a pond of standing water.

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)

State funds secured for historical sites in Ellendale

Supporters of historical preservation got some good news from District 28 legislators last week, when a press release confirmed what has previously been a hopeful rumor.

The press release announced, “$250,000 to help with the restoration of the opera house in Ellendale and $250,000 to improve interpretive information at the Whitestone Battlefield and to create a memorial to the Native Americans who lost their lives there.”

Greg Gackle, who has helped spearhead the Opera House restoration effort, was happy to hear the news and grateful for the efforts of the area’s legislators.

Gackle said they’re “looking at using the additional state funds to renovate the remaining street-level storefront on Main Street and make repairs that would enable limited use of the third floor auditorium.”

Gackle added, “We have a matching grant from the state historical society for repair of the west foundation and replacement of the west sidewalk.

“The total cost of that work is estimated at $50,000. We hope to have that work completed this year as well.”

(Story by Ken Smith, Dickey County Leader)