Assistant Chief Judge
The Honorable Tamara L. Yon
816 Marin Ave, Suite 210
Crookston, MN 56716
Honorable Yon,
I am contacting you in regards to an issue I perceive to be serious that involves a court file that appears to have entirely vanished from the State website.
There is no court file number for the case against George Robert Lyons. He was charged with 1st and 2nd degree sexual assault charges against a minor in January, 2016. The case was widely reported upon in the Grand Forks Herald and Valley News. Media reports make reference to court documents and court records. Yet, now there is no record at all.
I have contacted Polk County Court Administrator Kathy Narlock twice regarding this matter and she will not respond.
This is a public safety issue.
I am requesting the Court rectify this matter in every single way.
by Timothy Charles Holmseth on April 19, 2016, 10:18 P.M. CST
An impossible coincidence implicates six University of North Dakota (UND) police officers as being involved in a cover-up of the true facts and circumstances surrounding the shooting of David James Elliott on February 28, 2015.
Write Into Action has discovered UND police officers Mark Thorpe, Jayson Waltz, Jerad Braaten, Danny Weigel, Frank Lanasa, and Heather Hopkins were clearly involved in the events that led up to the shooting of David Elliott.
On February 27-28, 2015, local, county, and state police in North Dakota pursued David Elliott through multiple counties before he was shot six times – three times in the head – in the Altru hospital parking lot.
Elliott was shot by UND police officer Jerad Braaten.
Law enforcement refused to talk to the media for three days after the shooting. When a press conference was finally held, the story given was that Grand Forks Police were dispatched to Wells Fargo Bank at 10:41 P.M. after the cleaning lady called and reported a suspicious vehicle that had been parked in the parking lot for about an hour. According to police, a GFPD officer attempted to stop David Elliott and a high-speed chase ensued. The pursuit was called off by a GFPD supervisor.
But that story is not holding up.
According to the official story, only two UND officers (Jerad Braaten and Heather Hopkins) were involved in the Elliott pursuit. Hopkins was an intern and was riding in Braaten’s car with him. And – according to Braaten and Hopkins in their statements to the ND BCI, they were not involved in the initial pursuit of Elliott around 11:00 P.M. Braaten and Hopkins said they only became involved at the very end of the pursuit, which was well after midnight.
UND officers Thorpe, Waltz, Weigel, and Lanasa were never interviewed by the ND BCI after the shooting and have never been suspected as being involved.
Police records show that cannot be true.
Evidence shows all six UND officers were involved from the very beginning.
The evidence is found in a comparison between a GFPD officers dash-cam, and UND police dispatch records, which shows what was really going on.
The initial pursuit of David Elliott down I-29 by the GFPD was officially terminated at 11:07:42 P.M.
That is the same time – almost to the very second – that the six UND police officers, including Braaten (the shooter), ‘Cleared’ a “Suspicious Person” call from the Gamma Phi Beta sorority house on UND campus at 11:07:49. READ DISPATCH LOG
Furthermore – dash-cam evidence from the GFPD squad car shows the officer began following Elliott at 10:57 P.M. and activated his red lights at 10:58 P.M.
That corresponds exactly with the time the police dispatch records show the six UND officers begin to ‘Arrive’ to the ‘Suspicious Person’ call that was placed at 10:50 P.M.
It all began and ended at the same time.
The ND BCI summarized the event:
UND Police Department Officer JERAD BRAATEN, Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Andrew (Andy) Schneider, Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office Deputy Nathan (Nate) Moen, Grand Forks Police Department Sergeant Mark Ellingson, Grand Forks Police Department Corporal Wesley (Wes) Vert III, Grand Forks Police Department Officer Christopher (Chris) Brown, NDHP Trooper Matthew (Matt) Peschong, and NDHP Trooper Brittany Schmidt were involved in a pursuit with DAVID ELLIOTT.
-ND BCI
There is absolutely no mention of UND officers Thorpe, Waltz, Weigel, and Lanasa.
Elliott’s vehicle was found to contain “thousands” of pills on the night he was shot by police. However, nobody was ever criminally charged regarding the pills.
Wayne Stenehjem’s BCI uses magic to justify police shooting
ND AG Wayne Stenehjem
by Timothy Charles Holmseth on April 5, 2016, 9:08 P.M. CST
David James Elliott was shot by UND Police Officer Jared Braaten at 12:47 A.M., 2015 in the Altru hospital emergency room parking lot in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Braaten shot Elliott six times, including three times in the head, because Elliott bumped into Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Sgt. Andy Schneider’s SUV.
But…
Wait…
Abracadabra . . .
According to investigative interviews by the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Bureau Investigation (BCI), Sgt. Schneider was eating at the Grand Forks Air Force Base with GFSO deputy Nathan Moen, while Elliott was being shot.
The BCI investigation into the police shooting of the unarmed man contains impossibilities and absurdities that are wholly unacceptable.
“Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Deputy Nate Moen indicated that he and Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Andy Schneider ate lunch at the Grand Forks Air Force Base at approximately 11:55 p.m.,” said BCI special agent Michael J. Ness.
“Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Deputy Nate Moen and Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Andy Schneider left the Grand Forks Air Force Base at approximately 12:55 a.m.,” Ness said.
But the egregiousness of the discrepancies is even worse than that.
The BCI interviews record Schneider and Moen were both involved in pursuing Elliott down I-29 in separate vehicles during the same time they were supposedly eating at the GFAB.
Another bizarre entry by Ness said, “Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Deputy Nate Moen and Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Andy Schneider went to the Grand Forks Air Force Base in Grand Forks, North Dakota, at approximately 11:00 p.m., to have dinner.”
Dash cam video from Grand Forks Police Department officer Dan Harvala’s squad car captured during the initial pursuit of David James Elliot, shows Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Sgt. Andy Schneider standing by the side of I-29 near Thompson, North Dakota at 11:09 P.M., February, 27, 2015.
Sgt. Andy Schneider, GFSO, is seen standing on the side of I-29 at 11:09 P.M., February 27, 2015, after the first pursuit of David James Elliott was terminated. Elliott was shot at 12:47 A.M., February 28, 2015 in the emergency room parking lot of Altru hospital by UND police officer Jared Braaten after Elliott bumped into Schneider’s SUV. However, BCI interviews of involved officers after the shooting have Schneider eating dinner at the Grand Forks Air Force Base from 11:55 P.M. to 12:55 A.M.
While it is theoretically possible Schneider left the I-29 location following the termination of the first pursuit at 11:09 P.M., and then traveled to the GFAB to eat dinner with Moen; that version coincides with the two men eating at 11:55 P.M. and leaving at 12:55 A.M.
But – Elliott was shot at 12:47 A.M. for bumping into Schneider’s vehicle in the Altru parking lot – so it’s impossible.
The Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office SUV with a damaged bumper. The vehicle was driven by GFSO Sgt. Andy Schneider the night a police officer shot David James Elliott six times, including three times in the head, for hitting Schneider’s vehicle. BCI interviews have Schneider eating dinner at the Grand Forks Air Force Base at the same time Elliott was being shot.
Thousands of pills were located in Elliott’s vehicle when the BCI executed a search warrant.
No criminal charges were ever brought against Elliott or any other person regarding those drugs.
Write Into Action is investigating the possibility that Elliott had a passenger with him during the first pursuit.
Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Andy Schneider positioned his vehicle at a crossover about one (1) mile north of the Thompson, North Dakota, exit. Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Andy Schneider notified Grand Forks Police Department that he had deployed his spike strips. Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Andy Schneider indicated that Grand Forks Police Department Sergeant Mark Ellingson terminated the pursuit. The Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) relayed that DAVID ELLIOTT had called 911 and told them that he was going to hurt himself or others if law enforcement did not quit following him. It should be noted that Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Andy Schneider did not have his emergency lights activated and walked into the ditch to avoid getting run into by DAVID ELLIOTT. DAVID ELLIOTT continued southbound on I-29. Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Deputy Nate Moen and Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Andy Schneider went to the Grand Forks Air Force Base in Grand Forks, North Dakota, at approximately 11:00 p.m., to have dinner.
– SA Michael J. Ness / ND BCI / March 2, 2015
Official narrative regarding police shooting of unarmed man in serious question
by Timothy Charles Holmseth on April 5, 2016, 7:20 A.M. CST
The Grand Forks Police Department (GFPD) records clerk that transcribed the 911 call that preceded the police shooting of David James Elliott, did not know the ‘time’ of the call she was transcribing for an investigative journalist.
It’s kind of important.
The 911 call set into motion a high speed chase, police shooting of an unarmed man, and the subsequent seizure of thousands of pills in the suspect’s vehicle (for which no criminal charges were ever brought).
“The Time was not stated within the PSAP recording of the call therefore I have no way of knowing the exact time of the call,” said Penny Johnson, Records Administration Bureau, GFPD.
Lt. Derik Zimmel, GFPD, said the document provided to Write Into Action “fulfilled” the records request. It’s not known why the GFPD would not consider the actual time of a 911 call to be part of any 911 records request.
Lt. Zimmel, as well as Becky Ault, director of Grand Forks County PSAP, both responded to subsequent requests for clarification – both stated the time of the call was 10:41 P.M., February 27, 2015.
Becky Ault, Grand Forks County PSAP Director
However, the box allotted for “Time” remains empty in the actual transcription record.
Specific times are the key to understanding what occurred – and what did not occur.
Write Into Action’s request was for public records regarding an incident described in the official police shooting investigation conducted by the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) that said, “The cleaning woman inside the bank called in the complaint around 11:30 p.m., to 11:40 p.m.”
Lt. Zimmel said, “No such record exists.”
However – there appears to be a significant event that occurred at 11:30 P.M. on the night in question.
The BCI interview of ND State Trooper Brittany Schmidt said, “Trooper Schmidt stated the original call in regard to this case came in around 11 p.m.”
The BCI report continued, “Trooper Schmidt stated at 11:30 p.m., the vehicle from the earlier pursuit was located in Grand Forks. There was no pursuit at this time.”
The vehicle was located?
No pursuit?
Why?
Another anomalous statement regarding time is found in the BCI interview of GFPD officer Chris Brown who said he witnessed the pursuit at around 10:30 P.M.; which is before the 911 call was even made.
“In regard to the first (1st) pursuit, Grand Forks Police Department Officer Chris Brown said that he was at the Altru Hospital Emergency Room with a female that refused to leave, and a pursuit began at about 10:30 p.m./10:35 p.m. Grand Forks Police Department Officer Chris Brown saw the first (1st) pursuit proceed northbound on South Columbia Road past the Altru Hospital, but he was not involved. Grand Forks Police Department Officer Chris Brown continued with his call at the Altru Hospital Emergency Room until around 11:00 p.m.” the BCI report said.
How did Officer Brown observe a chase that began at 10:30/10:35 P.M. that was going north on Columbia Road past Altru when the pursuit did not begin until shortly before 11 P.M.?
The 11 P.M. start time for the pursuit is verified in a short video clip published by WDAZ TV.
“It started around 11 p.m. Friday February 27th when Grand Forks police tried to pull over a suspicious vehicle. Instead the driver of the vehicle, David Elliot, took off at speeds of more than 60 miles per hour thru a residential neighborhood,” WDAZ reported.
So what pursuit did Brown observe at 10:30/10:35 P.M.?
Write Into Action has identified a myriad of anomalies that call the official narrative in question.
Write Into Action continues to request public records and will report to the public.
Questions now exist whether the referenced BCI investigation actually pre-dated the Elliott shooting and may have been the catalyst for the attempted murder of Elliott by rogue police.
by Timothy Charles Holmseth on February 29, 2016 at 8:11 A.M.
ND Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is being asked to explain why his office has not made any statements regarding the pursuit and shooting of David James Elliott in 2015.
ND AG Wayne Stenehjem
In February, 2015, law enforcement in North Dakota refused to inform the public through the media about the basic facts surrounding an officer involved shooting in a hospital parking lot in Grand Forks.
The shooting involved the University of North Dakota Police Department (UNDPD), Grand Forks Police Department (GFPD), Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office (GFSO), and North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP).
Law enforcement continuously deferred reporters to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) saying the BCI was the “lead agency”.
On March 3, 2015, the Grand Forks Herald said in an Opinion:
Reached by phone Saturday morning, police Lt. Dwight Love told the Herald there was no danger to the public. He refused to elaborate, and passed off further questions to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Despite numerous requests from the Herald, the BCI did not comment. Adding to the confusion, the attorney general’s office — which oversees the BCI — said it was a local responsibility, i.e. our local police force.
Want to breed public distrust of the police and law-enforcement in general? Here’s a checklist on how to do it:
Withhold basic information and let rumors run rampant in coffee shops and on social media sites.
Appear unorganized and ignorant of basic protocols, such as which agency is actually in charge of public information.
Adopt a “nothing to see here” approach when the whole darn town knows (and sees) otherwise.
Disregard state law, which states that agencies are required to provide information in these types of incidents, including a chronology of events as well as initial offense report information showing the offense, date, time, general location, officer and a brief summary of what happened.
Over a year later there has been no known press release from the BCI regarding the ‘investigation’ that was continuously referenced by law enforcement spokesmen in the wake of the Elliott shooting.
Questions now exist whether the referenced BCI investigation actually pre-dated the Elliott shooting and may have been the catalyst for the attempted murder of Elliott by rogue police.
If so – that would mean all police efforts to withhold information from the public, from day one, was an attempt to hide the truth about an attempted murder that involved the GFPD, GFSO, UNDPD, and NDHP.
Stenehjem is running for the position of Governor.
* * * * *
Timothy Charles Holmseth
320 17th Street N.W.
Unit # 17
East Grand Forks, MN
56721 218.773.1299218.773.1299 218.230.1597218.230.1597 (cell)
tholmseth@wiktel.com http://www.writeintoaction.com
February 28, 2016
In Re: BCI Investigation / David James Elliott / Multiple County Pursuit
Wayne Stenehjem
Office of the Attorney General
State Capitol
600 E. Boulevard Ave.
Dept. 125
Bismarck, ND 58505 701.328.2210701.328.2210
ndag@state.nd.us
Attorney General Stenehjem,
I am contacting you in regards to the BCI investigation referenced by North Dakota law enforcement spokesmen following the pursuit and shooting of David James Elliott in February, 2015, in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
As you know, immediately following the pursuit and shooting, law enforcement refused to provide the media with any information regarding the event that began in the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot and ended hours later at Altru Hospital in front of the Emergency Room.
When UND Police Chief Eric Plummer, GFPD Chief Mark Nelson, and Grand Forks Sheriff Bob Rost, finally addressed the public in a press conference days later, they said they were not at liberty to provide the public with information or discuss it because it was a BCI investigation.
I am contacting you in regards to the SUBJECT of that BCI investigation; and the present STATUS of said investigation, which was repeatedly referenced by law enforcement.
According to UND Police Chief Eric Plummer during a press conference, the pursuit of David James Elliott involved “multiple counties” and the voting public needs to know what those counties were.
University of North Dakota Police Chief Eric Plummer and GFPD Police Chief Mark Nelson give opposing account of events
GFPD Chief Mark Nelson
by Timothy Charles Holmseth on February 21, 2016 at 1:44 P.M.
“No transcription requests, or requests for additional video footage to be processed, have been made for video or 911 records,”
– Lt. Derik Zimmel / GFPD
Law enforcement in North Dakota is attempting to cover-up the true facts and circumstances that led to the shooting of an unarmed man in a hospital parking lot.
The public is yet to learn why David James Elliott, a man with no criminal record, abruptly fled from police in February, 2015, before being shot three times in the head.
Despite availability, no request has been made for the critical 911 records of Elliott’s call to PSAP, which would shed light on the events, facts, and circumstances that ended when Elliott was shot outside the Emergency Room parking lot of Altru hospital in Grand Forks.
On February, 8, 2016, WDAZ, Forum Communications, Inc. broadcast select video featuring short clips from the chase and shooting.
Responding to a request for information by Write Into Action regarding records, Lt. Derik Zimmel, Grand Forks Police Department (GFPD) said “In-car video for primary pursuing vehicles for both pursuits in their entirety” was requested by the media.
Zimmel’s reference to “both pursuits” is based upon an assertion that two separate pursuits took place on the night in question.
The deceptive story being given to the public is that the initial David Elliott pursuit was cancelled, and then, re-initiated, over an hour later, when Elliott returned to Grand Forks city limits.
That’s false.
“MULTIPLE COUNTIES”
“The UND police officer was assisting in a pursuit that had covered multiple counties as well as the City of Grand Forks,” said UND Police Chief Eric Plummer during a press conference. [quote can be heard at the 20 second marker of the following video].
Plummer refers to ONE pursuit.
Either GFPD Chief Mark Nelson’s public information officer Lt. Derik Zimmel is lying; or UND Police Chief Eric Plummer is lying.
The facts show Plummer is telling the truth.
The pursuit was on-going after law enforcement claims they stopped chasing Elliott on I-29 South near Thompson, North Dakota.
But law enforcement does not want the public to know that.
Public record already in existence establish that Grand Forks County Sheriff’s and North Dakota Highway Patrol were pursuing Elliott on I-29 South from the Oslo, Minnesota interchange to Grand Forks, which is in the opposite direction of Thompson.
The details of the mysterious events occurring during that time window are contained in the 911 records.
The reason for calling it ‘two separate pursuits’ is to avoid discussing the activities of the Grand Forks Sheriff’s deputies and North Dakota Highway Patrol that were likely attempting kill Elliott.
The following excerpt is from an Opinion Letter authored by Grand Forks County States Attorney David T. Jones:
According to States Attorney Jones, Elliott telephoned 911 after the pursuit began. The 911 records of Elliott’s 911 call will reveal where he was located and what was occurring around him.
“No transcription requests, or requests for additional video footage to be processed, have been made for video or 911 records,” said Lt. Derik Zimmel, GFPD.
Write Into Action has determined a collective effort is being made to conceal from the public, just exactly what occurred after police claim they stopped chasing Elliott near Thompson, North Dakota; and over an hour later when they admit coming back into contact with Elliott near the Oslo, Minnesota I-29 interchange, which is in the opposite direction.
Investigating journalist threatened with kidnapping of grandchild
by Timothy Charles Holmseth on February 5, 2016 at 10:53 P.M.
Timothy Charles Holmseth is attempting to obtain all the public records regarding the shooting of an unarmed man that was shot three times in the head in the parking lot of a hospital in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Holmseth believes the records will blow the lid off a major cover-up.
The shooting of David James Elliott captured headlines in 2015 when law enforcement broke from protocol for two and half days – refusing to tell the media anything about the shooting of a man that was desperately trying to reach the Emergency Room at Altru Hospital.
Holmseth, an investigative journalist, became suspicious when Bob Rost, the sheriff of Grand Forks County, blatantly lied to news reporters about the whereabouts of two of his deputies on the night Elliott was hunted down and shot.
Rost told news reporters that his deputies became involved in the pursuit of Elliott inside the Grand Forks city limits. It was soon discovered Rost’s deputies and a North Dakota State Trooper had been following Elliott down the interstate with no emergency lights activated – far from the City of Grand Forks.
As information trickled out it became more and more suspicious.
It was revealed that shortly after the original pursuit of Elliott began that he (Elliott) called 911. Law enforcement has kept the details of the entire night a secret by not releasing the 911 calls or officer body-cam evidence.
Affidavits from the Grand Forks Police Department and Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office reveal a critical discrepancy that holds a major clue to what was going on. The GFPD made it clear they ceased their ‘initial’ pursuit of Elliot BEFORE Grand Forks deputies set out spike-strips for him.
However – the Affidavit supplied by the Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office makes no mention whatsoever of sheriff’s deputies ever laying out spike –strips for Elliot (much less who did it or where).
The GFPD was clearly attempting to distance themselves from certain activities of the Sheriff’s Office on the night in question.
The Grand Forks Police Department is presently attempting to hinder Holmseth’s public records request by making the acquisition of the records nearly financially impossible.
GFPD Chief Mark Nelson
READ Holmseth’s letter to GFPD Chief of Police Mark Nelson.
The battle for the records is complicated by the fact the GFPD, and neighboring police in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, refuse to investigate the persons threatening Holmseth with mutilation and death if he doesn’t remove all of his publication from the Web.
Holmseth has also been told his grandchild may be kidnapped if he doesn’t remove all of his websites.
In an even more bizarre twist – Holmseth has been contacted and told the group threatening him is the same organization that murdered Teresa Halbach and framed Steven Avery – an even made widely known by the Netflix series ‘Making a Murder’.
Timothy Holmseth has set up a GoFundMe account to acquire the records for publication.
Holmseth produced a video for the GoFundMe account.
America's Little Girl 