1 year after Cloquet mother, toddler killed, no end in sight for defendant s case
Sheldon Thompson was in court Thursday, just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the slayings, but no trial date has been set. 6:07 pm, Mar. 4, 2021 ×
Sheldon James Thompson
It has been one year since Jackie Defoe and Kevin Shabaiash Jr. were killed inside their home on the Fond du Lac Reservation in Cloquet.
While the crime has sparked numerous protests and demands for justice, it doesn t appear that a criminal case will be resolved any time soon.
The accused killer, Sheldon James Thompson, could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder. But there was little progress to report as the 34-year-old appeared in State District Court for a status conference Thursday.
Murder charge added in teen s shooting death on Fond du Lac Reservation
The additional charge significantly increases the potential sentence Joseph Fohrenkam could face if convicted of killing 16-year-old Joseph Peterson. 3:40 pm, Mar. 4, 2021 ×
Joseph James Fohrenkam
Prosecutors have added a third-degree murder charge against the Brevator Township man accused of fatally shooting his friend in late December.
Joseph James Fohrenkam, 18, already was facing a felony count of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Joseph James Peterson, 16. But he now faces a significantly stiffer sentence if convicted of murder.
Authorities said Fohrenkam was showing off his pistol when he discharged it, apparently by accident, while drinking with Peterson and three other friends in a car on the Fond du Lac Reservation. Fohrenkam and his mother allegedly went on the run before they were arrested more than a week later in northwestern Minnesota.
2 arrests in human trafficking sting were Line 3 workers
Activists opposed to Enbridge’s Line 3 oil pipeline have long argued its construction would bring sex crimes to northern Minnesota. 6:45 pm, Feb. 23, 2021 ×
Enbridge s Line 3 oil pipeline under construction near the intersection of Hohensee and West Moorhead roads in Carlton County in January. (Clint Austin / 2021 file / caustin@duluthnews.com)
Two of the men charged in last week’s Itasca County human trafficking bust were working on Enbridge s Line 3 project, fueling concern that construction of the oil pipeline is bringing a higher risk of sex crimes to the area.
Michael Kelly West, 53, of Rolla, Missouri, was charged with one count of carrying a pistol without a permit and one count of solicitation to engage in prostitution.
Steps away from the construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline in Cloquet, a handful of tents and lawn chairs surround a campfire. With temps in the single digits, Alex Golden-Wolf propped her feet up on the bricks surrounding the fire to keep them warm. Golden-Wolf, who is Ojibwe, quit her restaurant jobs in the Duluth area to move to this piece of land the campers call Camp Migizi, or bald .