By Richard Crawford

Three men have been arrested in conjunction with home burglaries in Carver County and as many as 10 other counties around the state and Wisconsin, according to the Carver County Sheriff’s Office.

On July 12, seven residences in rural Carver County were ransacked and burglarized during the day by the trio of suspects, who have been charged in Anoka County and are expected to be charged in other jurisdictions.

Ricardo Lozano, 29, of Chaska, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for violating his probation and failing to register as a predatory offender. 

On March 31, 2005, a Carver County jury convicted Lozano of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, terroristic threats and fifth-degree Assault, according to a Carver County Attorney’s Office press release.

The Carver County Attorney’s Office argued that Lozano should go to prison for 12 years – a sentence in accordance with the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines, the release stated.

Carver County Attorney Jim Keeler announced today that a Carver County jury found Daniel Reid Farrington, 25,of Chaska, guilty of fleeing police in a high speed chase that occurred on Highway 212 in Chanhassen and into Eden Prairie on April 3.

According to a press release, the Carver County Attorney’s Office charged Farrington with two counts of Fleeing a Peace Officer, Obstructing Legal Process, Reckless Driving, Speeding and Driving with Expired Registration in Chanhassen.

An Eagan man has been sentenced to 74 months in prison for dealing drugs in Chaska.

According to a release from Carver County Attorney Jim Keeler, a jury found Marco Antonio Sosa-Ramierez guilty of possessing and selling cocaine in Chaska on January 5, 2010. 

Mario Cortolezzis, 36 of Waconia, has been charged with four counts of theft and four counts of theft by Swindle (all felonies), according to a press release from Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom.

According to the release, Cortolezzis allegedly used his position as executive director to steal in excess of $29,000.00 from SAFERS (Search and Find Emergency Responders), a non-profit organization serving autistic and Alzheimer patients in Carver County.

These thefts are alleged to have occurred from 2008 to 2010, the release stated.

Wright County Sheriff Gary Miller understands the pressures that a career in law enforcement entails. As a 30-plus-year veteran of the department, he is all too familiar with the stresses his employees face and how it can change them over time.

“Law enforcement jobs damage people,” he said, pointing to higher-than-average divorce, suicide and chemical abuse rates.

Two Chaska men were arrested on felony drug charges last Thursday.  

According to the Carver County Sheriff's Office, agents of the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force went to Cy's Bar on July 15 after receiving information of illegal drug activity. Upon investigating they observed a transaction between two men at the bar which appeared to be a drug deal. When the two men separated, deputies stopped and searched them.

A Chanhassen man has been sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to third degree criminal sexual conduct.

According to a press release from the Carver County Attorney's Office, Nicholas Scott Foley was charged with the felony offense for incidents that occurred with a 14-year-old Waconia girl between December 2007 and February 2008.

The First District Court July newsletter carries a story about the importance of bilingual court employees at the Carver County Government Center, located in downtown Chaska.

Jesus Julian Del Rio, 18, of Chaska was sentenced for a criminal vehicular operation on July 9, according to a press release from Carver County Attorney Jim Keeler.

The case stemmed from a near-fatal single-car crash that occurred in Chaska on April 12, 2010. A passenger in Del Rio’s car suffered life-threatening injuries that resulted in partial paralysis and possible permanent brain damage, as well as other injuries, the release stated.