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• Pierce County woman gets 14 months prison for police battery
• Beldenville man gets one year jail for OWI, reckless driving
• Prescott teenager charged with strangulation

By Jason Schulte, RiverTowns staff

A county woman was sentenced Tuesday in Pierce County Circuit Court to 14 months prison for police battery.

Tally A. Rowan, 34, was found guilty of the felony by a jury trial in March. She was also placed on three years extended supervision upon her release. Pepin/Buffalo Circuit Court Judge James Duvall also sentenced her to nine months jail for carrying a concealed weapon and resisting/obstructing an officer. Those terms are concurrent.

"Confinement is needed to protect the public," Duvall said. "She has shown a pattern of belligerence towards officers along with an avoidance of acceptance of responsibility for her conduct."

The charges stem back to an incident in March 2008 when Rowan crashed her vehicle into a light pole on US Highway 10 in Prescott. The incident carried over to the River Falls Area Hospital where she was transported due to her injuries. At the hospital, River Falls Police Officer Jennifer Knutson, who was there to assist Prescott police, testified at trial she was injured by Rowan. The injury, which was to her thumb, caused her to miss nine months of work.

For more please read the Sept. 30 print version of the Pierce County Herald.

By Jason Schulte, RiverTowns staff

Thomas O'Brien sat in a Pierce County courtroom Tuesday afternoon still showing the lingering effects of an accident that happened nearly 14 months ago.

Pepin/Buffalo Circuit Court Judge James Duvall advised him that if he's feeling pity for himself, to knock it off.

"This isn't about you or the wreck you made of your life," Duvall said during O'Brien's plea hearing. "It's about the impact you made on the Perez family and their lives."

O'Brien, 22, Beldenville, pled guilty to nine charges Tuesday, including three OWI's and multiple misdemeanors, which included reckless driving. Overall, Duvall sentenced him to 365 days jail and put him on four years probation, which included his driving privileges being revoked for 24 months.

Charges

Seven of those nine charges related to an incident on July 28, 2008 in which O'Brien was traveling northbound on Hwy. 65, just north of Beldenville. He crossed the centerline in the southbound lane and struck a truck that was driven by Scott Perez, Ellsworth. Perez's wife Shannon and the couple's then three-year-old daughter Jordyn were passengers in the truck. The Perezes had to be transferred to River Falls Area Hospital.

Records show that O'Brien was on his phone texting just prior to when the crash occurred.

For more please read the Sept. 30 print version of the Pierce County Herald.

By Jason Schulte, RiverTowns staff

A Prescott teenager was charged Tuesday in Pierce County Circuit Court with strangulation and suffocation.

John P. Lubich, 19, 190 Flora St. S., was also charged with alleged misdemeanor intimidation of a victim and disorderly conduct. The strangulation charge, which is a Class H felony, carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 and/or six years prison. He's scheduled to make his first court appearance 10 a.m. Oct. 19 on the charges.

Incident

The charges stem back to an Aug. 14 incident in the city of Prescott when the female victim called 911 according to the criminal complaint.

Prescott Police Officer Mark Schultz noted in his report that the victim told Pierce County Dispatch that things were fine and that a male voice got on the phone, sounded angry and then hung up.

Schultz went to 190 Flora St. and initially talked to the male, identified as Lubich. He said everything was fine between him and the victim.

For more please read the Sept. 30 print version of the Pierce County Herald.