by Lisa Baumann and Wendy johnson
Pine Journal
Charges have been filed against two Proctor juveniles in relation to a series of water-dumping episodes at Sunnyside Health Care Center in Cloquet.
According to Assistant Carlton County Attorney Dennis Genereau, charges have been filed against the two, though he is unable to reveal the nature of the charges or any further information because the two have been petitioned in juvenile court.
The action brings to three the number of young people implicated in the incidents, involving the random victimization of elderly nursing home residents on three separate episodes taking place in the latter half of 2006 and January 2007.
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In another development in the case, the Cloquet youth who was already charged in relation to the crime made a second appearance in Carlton County District Court on Tuesday.
The 16-year-old boy, charged with felony stalking, underwent an evaluation in the past month that included a psychological assessment. Although the evalution had been completed, the boys' attorney, Tom Skare, said he still lacked all the information necessary to move forward with the case.
Skare also addressed some of the youth's recent physical and medical complications.
In court, the teen appeared in a wheelchair and had one leg elevated on a chair.
"It is endangering him to keep him [at Arrowhead Juvenile Center]," Skare said. "He has no access to a wheelchair there ... and an inability to reach the call light."
Skare recommended that the boy be allowed to return home so his parents could care for him.
Genereau and probation officer Tom Proulx disagreed with that recommendation.
The boy has attempted to harm himself on two occasions during the past two months, according to Genereau.
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Proulx reported that he has been spending up to three hours a day working on this case and that several doctors at St. Mary's have told him they are not comfortable with the idea of the teen going home.
"He remains a risk for self-harm," he said, citing that a butter knife had been hidden among his things in his hospital room. "The doctors said he doesn't need one-on-one medical attention and I understand it could be a burden on AJC to care for him, but it's the safest place for him to be and the safest [choice] for the community."
Proulx was also concerned about the boy's home environment and said it would not be the best choice for the boy at this time.
Judge Dale Wolf said the teen would remain at AJC, but the court would revisit that decision if his medical condition changed.
The teen pleaded not guilty to the charges in March. His next court appearance is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, and soon after it will be determined whether he will be tried as an adult.
According to the complaint, the boy admitted to police that he and two other teens walked to the nursing home some time in the summer to visit one of his neighbors. While there, the boy said he took a pitcher of water from the kitchen and poured it onto an elderly woman.
The boy said he and his friends planned to do the same thing on another occasion. Reportedly, small groups of boys dumped water on residents three times, in June and December 2006 and in January 2007.
