Minnesota high court yanks judicial candidate’s law license

ST. PAUL (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday indefinitely suspended the law license of frequent justice candidate Michelle MacDonald, affirming a referee’s finding that she violated the state’s rules of professional conduct by falsely impugning the integrity of a judge.

The high court also said MacDonald cannot petition for reinstatement for four months, calling it an appropriate penalty for repeating her misconduct by knowingly making false statements about the integrity of the same judge while still on probation in an earlier disciplinary case.

The judge was Dakota County Judge David Knutson, who presided over the 2013 child-custody trial of MacDonald’s client, Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, who was herself later convicted of hiding her two daughters from their father for two years. MacDonald was suspended for 60 days in 2018 and put on probation for two years after that. In 2014, she was acquitted of a drunken driving charge but later convicted of a misdemeanor for obstruction of the legal process.

Associated Justices Paul Thissen and Margaret Chutich, who MacDonald challenged in 2020 and 2018 respectively, took no part in the disciplinary case.

Minnesota man accused of killing wife is in a Wisconsin jail

WOODBURY (AP) — A man accused of fatally stabbing his wife in a jealous rage is in a Wisconsin jail awaiting his return to Minnesota.

McKinley Phillips, 39, is charged in Washington County District Court with second-degree intentional murder in the death of 42-year-old Shavon Phillips.

Six children were in the couple’s home in Woodbury when the victim was killed Friday, authorities said. They were not harmed.

McKinley Phillips was arrested after he was found on a Greyhound bus about 150 miles away in Monroe County, Wisconsin on Saturday.

Woodbury Police Cmdr. John Altman said Phillips is expected to be returned to Washington County for a court appearance later this week, the Star Tribune reported.

It was not immediately clear if Phillips has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

According to a criminal complaint, a woman called 911 Friday afternoon and said her son told her he killed his wife and left her body in the basement.

Shavon Phillips died from stab wounds to her back, chest and neck and other traumatic injuries, according to autopsy results.

6 Twin Cities men charged in large-scale marijuana operation

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal authorities say six men from the Twin Cities area have been arrested for allegedly distributing thousands of pounds of marijuana shipped from California.

Douglas Finch, Danny Gehl Jr., David Gehl, Frank Kittleson, Patric Maykoski and Daniel Thomas are charged with conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana. Court documents say the operation began in 2016.

Authorities say the men routinely sent shipping crates from a warehouse in St. Paul to a warehouse in North Highlands, California. They would fly from Minnesota to California to purchase the marijuana, fill the crates and load them on a delivery truck for shipment back to Minnesota.