Minneapolis man targeted by state corrections officers

If you have served time for a crime, you may not realize that you could still find yourself as the focus of a Minnesota Department of Corrections manhunt, even after you have been released from jail.

Unfortunately, certain charges, such as rape, will stick with you long after you take responsibility for your actions and spend time in prison, and if you step one toe out of line, you may be the focus of a police investigation.

A 43-year-old Minneapolis man is learning exactly how difficult it is to shake his past after Minnesota Department of Corrections officers were searching for him. The Star Tribune says that the man had pled guilty to raping and punching a young woman in a Hennepin County parking lot in 2003. The man was sentenced to prison for his involvement in the rape and was finally released in late November.

Even though the man had finished his prison sentence, the state put him on the strictest for m of supervised release, requiring him to stay in a halfway house and to wear a post-sentencing monitoring bracelet. Sources claim that on New Year’s Eve the man cut off his monitoring bracelet, starting the widespread manhunt.

In addition to making him the subject of an extensive and possibly embarrassing investigation, the corrections officers also informed the public that he was out. The officials also warned people not to approach him, implying that the man was still dangerous or that he would attempt to rape someone again.

Source: Star Tribune, “Fugitive convicted rapist turns himself in at Hennepin County jail,” Paul Welsh, Jan. 4, 2012

Max Keller has won countless jury trial cases involving misdemeanors and felonies, sex crimes, and DWI’s. He is a member of the Minnesota Society for Criminal Justice, which only allows the top 50 criminal defense attorneys in the state as members. Max is a frequent speaker at CLE’s and is often asked for advice by other defense attorneys across Minnesota.

Years of Experience: Approx. 20 years
Minnesota Registration Status: Active
Bar & Court Admissions: State of Minnesota Minnesota State Court Minnesota Federal Court 8th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals State of Maryland

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