The mother of a man fatally shot by St. Paul police officers in 2017 has refiled her lawsuit against the city and the police department.

Kimberly Handy-Jones moved to have the case dismissed back in 2019 despite no settlement being reached between the parties.

She was given one year to refile it, according to her new attorney, Paul Bosman, who said she secured his representation shortly before the deadline expired.

The new suit was filed in Ramsey County District Court last month and recently moved to federal court, Bosman said.

Handy-Jones is seeking financial damages in excess of $100,000 as well as a court order finding that the St. Paul police department violated her son Cordale Handy’s constitutional rights and wrongfully caused his death when two of its officers fatally shot him during an encounter in the spring of 2017.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office reviewed the case and determined that the officers were justified in the shooting. Handy was 29 when he died.

Before the encounter with the officers in Dayton’s Bluff, Handy had aimed a gun at his girlfriend and fired 16 shots inside her apartment in the 700 block of East Sixth Street, according to a county attorney’s office memo summarizing the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s investigation.

Outside the building, Handy twice raised a gun at an officer, the memo said.

Handy’s girlfriend and a friend had told officers that Handy’s gun was not loaded, and pleaded with them not to shoot him. But the Ramsey County attorney’s office wrote in their decision that there was “no way (the women) or the officers could be sure that he did not reload his gun.”

An unloaded gun was found about 10 feet from Handy’s body. It was later determined to have been stolen in 2013, according to the county attorney’s office memo.

According to the new federal lawsuit filed by his mother, Handy had obeyed commands to get on the ground and drop his gun before the officers opened fire on him.

He had just moved his hands above his head when one of the two officers on the scene started shooting, followed closely by the second officer, according to the lawsuit.

The event unfolded while Handy was in the midst of a “mental health crisis,” according to the lawsuit.

The location of some of the seven bullet wounds Handy sustained in the shooting indicate he couldn’t have had his right hand aimed at the shooters at the time he was hit, the lawsuit continues, adding that other bullet wounds indicate his body was actually turned away from the officers.

The lawsuit also claims that officers failed to render aid at the scene, further contributing to Handy’s death.

Bosman said the case is solid.

“I think the St. Paul Police Department has a very bad record in terms of officers perpetrating shootings of civilians and I think that is largely because of the training of the St. Paul Police Department,” he said.

In an answer to the suit filed Wednesday, an assistant St. Paul city attorney denied many of the claims made.

It further states that Handy-Jones is not entitled to damages as her son’s death was caused “solely by reason … (of his) own wrongdoing and/or misconduct and not by the reason of any unlawful acts or omissions by (St. Paul police or the St. Paul police department).”

St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olson issued the following statement Wednesday when asked for comment:

“We sympathize with the circumstances surrounding this tragedy. This suit presents an opportunity to bring closure to all those in our community impacted by this event.”

A 14-year-old girl wearing her school uniform was propositioned for sex by a registered sex offender while riding the city bus after school in St. Paul this past December, according to criminal charges.

The girl had just finished her driver’s education class and hopped on the bus at University Avenue and Hampden Street about 7 p.m. on Dec. 6 when an older man on the bus started trying to talk to her, according to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court Wednesday.

He asked the girl where she was going and what stop she was getting off at, she later told police. She ignored him, and the man then pulled out a $50 bill and told her that he wanted to have sex with her, the complaint said.

The girl ignored that, too, and eventually exited the bus at her stop without incident, but the incident scared her, prompting her to wait in a nearby Walgreens store to be sure the man wasn’t following her before she started walking home, according to the complaint.

The teen, who has since turned 15, told her parents and two friends about what happened when she got home, but decided not to file a police report at the time.

She changed her mind last month after her mother heard about a similar incident involving an 18-year-old woman at a bus stop in St. Paul in mid February, according to the criminal charges.

The young woman was also offered $50 by an older man in exchange for sex, the complaint said.

The incident was mentioned on the Highland Park Neighborhood Facebook page, and included a picture of the suspect. The teen’s mother showed her daughter the picture and the girl recognized the man as the one who had approached her on the bus in December, according to the charges.

After contacting the poster, the mother and daughter learned that the suspect’s name was Walter Jerome Bradley-Bey, according to the charges, and that misdemeanor level solicitation charges had been filed against him in the case.

The mother and daughter contacted police, and the girl later identified Bradley-Bey as the man who solicited her from a six-person photo lineup, the charges say. She initially said she was 80 percent sure she had the right guy, but changed that to 95 percent before leaving the police department.

Bradley-Bey, 66, was interviewed about the allegations late last month. While he admitted to offering to pay $50 to three women for sex at St. Paul bus stops — all of whom he said he was certain were over 18 — he said he couldn’t recall ever approaching a girl on the bus with the offer, the complaint said.

When asked why he approached women in such a manner, he reportedly said: “She didn’t look bad, you know,” according to the complaint. He also reportedly said he’d been drinking at the time.

Bradley-Bey, who has no permanent address, is on supervised release from a 1997 conviction for kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Hennepin County, authorities say.

Bradley-Bey was charged via warrant in the Ramsey County case with one prostitution count involving someone between the ages of 13 and 15 and a second count of soliciting a minor for sex.

No attorney was listed for him in court records.

A St. Paul man busted with more than four kilograms of heroin, a half a million dollars in cash and six loaded firearms was sentenced to more than a decade in prison this week.

Phelixis Fitzgerald Mar Robinson, who goes by “Storm,” was sentenced by Judge Patrick Schiltz in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis Thursday on one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Robinson pleaded guilty to the count in October.

Law enforcement seized his drugs, money and firearms after executing several search warrants in the case, which was the result of a joint investigated conducted by the  Anoka-Hennepin Narcotics and Violent Crime Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

In addition to eleven and a half years in prison, Robinson was sentenced to five years of supervised release once he is done serving his time.

The Minnesota state judicial system is taking measures to respond to the spreading coronavirus.

Effective Monday, all court proceedings scheduled in state courthouses across the state will be suspended for the next 30 days aside from jury trials already underway and those cases deemed high priority, according to an order issued by Minnesota Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea.

Cases subject to the state’s speedy trial laws will continue.

The decision follows Gov. Tim Walz’s decision Friday afternoon to declare a peacetime emergency.

Despite the suspensions, the courthouses will remain open and scheduled hearings open to the public. Non-essential visits are discouraged.

However, no one with a high risk of transmitting the coranavirus is allowed to attend proceedings. Those required to will be subject to “social distancing and other mitigation strategies” recommended by the Minnesota Department of Health.

Jurors who are already seated on a trial underway, or those called to participate in one of the cases deemed high priority, are still mandated to do so unless the person notifies court administration by either phone, email or in person that they either have or are suspect to have the virus.

Appeals proceedings pending before the Minnesota Court of Appeals as well as the Minnesota Supreme Court will continue as scheduled. However, proceedings, when possible, should be held through Interactive Video Teleconference or other video of phone conferencing methods, according to the order.

“Super-high priority cases” were described as those involving search warrants, arrest warrants, initial appearances, domestic abuse temporary protective orders, juvenile delinquency detention hearings, emergency removal cases and mental health commitment hearings.

High priority cases were described as those where “public safety concerns are paramount,” “personal safety concerns are vital,” “constitutional rights are primarily implicated,” or rule timelines are short.

Meanwhile, in the federal court system in Minnesota, criminal and civil jury trials, grand juries and attorney admission ceremonies will be suspended until after April 27.

The federal Clerk’s Office, the Probation & Pretrial Services Office, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and all other Court services will stay open until further order.

The St. Paul school district Monday reassured families that it will not leave them to fend for themselves while schools remain closed due to the spreading coronavirus.

In an email sent to parents, it laid out plans underway to ensure students are equipped for distance-learning should closures stretch beyond spring break, and committed to providing meals to families in need and offering spaces to help students maintain their well-being during these uncertain times.

iPADS WILL ENABLE DISTANCE LEARNING, DISTRICT SAYS

In the email, the district announced plans to ensure every K-12 student has an iPad as well as access to the internet to accommodate distance learning in the event it becomes necessary.

Staff is working on plans to determine which students left their devices at school so they can get them to the right students.

Families who are able will pick up the devices at their students’ schools on Tuesday per district-provided instructions. For families who can’t get to schools, the district’s transportation department is working on a plan to deliver the iPads to individual homes.

The iPads will have a pre-installed link that connects students to the district’s COVID-19 webpage, where they will find information and resources on how a distance learning environment would operate, the email said.

Distance learning will not take place until after spring break concludes, and only if schools aren’t back in session by then.

The district will offer a different distance learning plan for Pre-K students that doesn’t require the devices.

Families without internet access at home can utilize free hotspots Xfinity is offering throughout the area, the email said.

MEAL PICK-UP LOCATIONS WILL HELP FAMILIES IN NEED

Starting Wednesday, school bus routes will be used as meal pick-up locations for families needing extra help during school closures. Parents are asked to accompany their children to the sites, and each child will be provided with a one-week supply of meals.

Bus stops will take place Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays during the closure.

Additional meals will also be available for curbside pickup at designated schools. Interested families can review a complete list of meal times and locations at spps.org/ns.

Families with medically fragile children or without transportation can also request to have their meals delivered to their homes.

STUDENT HEALTH, WELLNESS SITES TO OPEN AT SOME SCHOOLS

Students who left medications or health office supplies at school should contact their individual school’s health office staff to arrange a time to pick up the items or get them sent home. Some medications could be delivered alongside iPads.

The district will also be opening a small number of “Health Start” clinics where students can receive wellness, nutrition, mental health and general health support during the closure. Neither coronavirus nor flu testing will not be available at the sites. “The clinics will provide a space for youth who feel healthy to have their preventive and emotional needs met,” the district’s web site says. More information about the locations can be found here.

CHILDCARE TO BE PROVIDER FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS

The district’s Discovery Club will serve as a childcare option for school-age students of first responders and medical staff starting Wednesday. Information about registration, hours, locations and requirements for document of work status is available at spps.org/ekidscare.

As Ramsey County prepares for the coronavirus to reach inmates, more details emerged about who might be released from custody to help slow the spread.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said his staff is hoping to reduce the 500-inmate population currently housed at the county jail by 10 percent — or about 50 inmates — so that the facility has room to clear one of its 10-pods for use as a quarantine site within the facility, he said Tuesday.

Of course it will be up to a Ramsey County judge to decide who gets released early and placed on home-monitoring, he noted, adding that members of both the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and the Ramsey County Public Defender’s office are reviewing a list of people accused of low-level crimes.

It includes people accused of misdemeanor, gross-misdemeanor and lower felony level crimes, such as drug possession and property theft crimes.

Both Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Ramsey County Public Defender Jim Fleming support reducing the jailed population, noting that its not only critical to public health given the dangers of the virus infiltrating a high-density, confined space, but there also are constitutional issues given that inmates have not yet been convicted of a crime.

Those that are there are being held on bail as they await resolutions to their cases.

“The public needs to understand that we need to take extraordinary measures to ensure the public health of everyone in our community and that includes the people who are currently in our jails and the people that work in those local jails,” Choi said. “Right now there is no outbreak of COVID-19 in our jails that we know of but we certainly know that if there is one it could have disastrous consequences.”

REVIEWING LIST OF CASES

Defense attorneys and prosecutors are reviewing the list of cases sent over from the jail as well as their own case files to make their own determination on the best candidates for release.

The hope is the parties can reach an agreement so that the judge can sign off on it without a hearing. In cases where the sides disagree, hearings will be held.

Both Fleming and Choi said they are hopeful to come to a consensus on the majority of cases but noted that the sides will surely clash in some instances.

Multiple motions about such bail hearings are already being filed, and court staff is busy adding them to the calendar, according to Ramsey County Chief Judge John Guthmann.

NOT A MATTER OF IF, BUT WHEN

Fletcher said with the number of staff, attorneys, investigators and others coming and going from the jail its not a matter of if but when that the coronavirus infects an inmate.

When the time he comes, he and his staff aim to be ready.

The working plan has been to monitor the temperature of everyone coming and going from the facility, and keeping new arrestees separate from the rest of the jail population for three days to monitor symptoms.

Obviously, that’s not a perfect system as it can take longer for some people to show symptoms, but staff is doing the best it can under the circumstances, Fletcher said.

If an inmate is infected with the coronavirus, he would be moved to the jail’s quarantine site, which will ideally be in a separate pod assume the jail population is reduced sufficiently.

Those who are symptomatic but have not yet tested positive for the virus will remain in their cell until test results are confirmed.

NOT PRIORITIZING MISDEMEANOR-LEVEL, DRIVING-RELATED ARRESTS

Jail staff are also transporting inmates who need to go the courthouse so fewer people are in contact, Fletcher added.

As another population control method, law enforcement officers on the street have been advised not to prioritize misdemeanor-level and driving-related arrests to keep from crowding the jail with new lower-level cases.

Fletcher noted that the jail recently endured an outbreak of Influenza A but was able to keep the spread to seven inmates and one staffer due to successful containment efforts.

WORK-RELEASE INMATES TO TRANSFER TO HOME-MONITORING

Meanwhile, steps are already being taken to reduce the number of people housed at the Ramsey County Correction Facility.

An order signed Tuesday morning by Ramsey County’s chief judge will allow inmates serving work-release sentenced at the facility to serve their time via electronic home monitoring instead.

The move is intended to decrease the risk that inmates introduce the coronavirus to the rest of the facility’s population. Those inmates on work-release are allowed to leave for work during the day but return to the facility at night.

Separate from the county’s jail, where people are held after arrest and before sentencing, the facility is where people in Ramsey County are sent who are sentenced to less than a year and a day in custody. Defendants who receive longer sentences serve that time in prison.

DELAY TURN-IN DATES

The order also allows defendants recently sentenced to the facility to delay their turn-in date until after April 15 and suspends the county’s Sentence-to-Service program until that time as well.

Those on work-release who will now be serving their time via electronic home-monitoring will remain under that arrangement until April 15, at which time they will return to the facility, the order says.

Only 15 of the Ramsey County Correctional Facility’s 250 inmates are among those eligible for work release, according to Deputy Director of Community Relations for Ramsey County Corrections, Chris Crutchfield.

Those inmates, who comprise the lowest-risk offenders in the facility, will be monitored via ankle bracelets.

Forty-six people will be impacted by the changes to the Sentence to Service program.

The Minnesota Judicial System is giving residents a break on late fees and postponing previously mandatory appearances for offenses subject to driver’s license suspension as an attempt to minimize foot-traffic in courthouses due to the coronavirus.

The following temporary administrative actions took effect March 16 and will remain in place for the next 30 days, according to the director of public affairs for the Minnesota Judicial Branch:

• The state court system will stop sending out late penalty notices and assessing late penalties for all citations.
• No person’s license will be suspended for failing to appear on offenses eligible for driver’s license suspension.
• The Judicial Branch will stop referring past-due payment cases to the Department of Revenue for collections without any adverse impacts to a defendant’s case.

Other court matters requiring financial transactions, such as the reinstatement of drivers’ licenses as well as web and phone-based payments made through the state’s Court Payment Center, will continue uninterrupted.

Ramsey County Board members this week approved nearly $2 million in funding to cover the costs of preparing two east-metro facilities that will serve as quarantine and isolation sites for people experiencing homelessness who are impacted by the coronavirus.

The measure recognizes that the virus could move quickly inside a homeless shelter due to the age and vulnerability of the homeless as well as the close-quarters of shelters, according to the resolution signed Tuesday.

The county’s most recent Point-In-Time homeless count found that over 50 percent of shelter residents are over the age of 50 and that many lack health insurance.

QUARANTINE, ISOLATION SITES

County staff is still working to identify the two facilities that will serve as the quarantine and isolation sites, according to Max Holdhusen, manager of housing stability for Ramsey County.

The county’s shuttered Boy’s Totem Town, which used to serve as a male juvenile corrections facility, is a contender but no final decision has been made, Holdhusen said.

The $1.8 million in funding, which will come from the county’s contingency funds, will help pay for lease agreements at the facilities as well as contracts with nursing and security staff and food providers. The county will also be hiring temporary workers to help run the shelters, Holdhusen said.

The county is hoping to reimbursed for some of the expenses from the state and federal government.

The facilities will primarily serve people experiencing homeless currently helped by Catholic Charities Higher Ground shelter, shelters run by the Union Gospel Mission, as well as the one operated by Safe Space. Other homeless residents who don’t use the shelters could also be cared for there, he added.

People who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus would be isolated inside the facilities, while those who are symptomatic will be kept in quarantine settings.

SO FAR, NO CONFIRMED CASES IN SHELTERS

So far, there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus at the shelters, but its essential to be prepared for when the time comes, Ramsey County Manager Ryan O’Connor told board members Tuesday.

He said the aim is to provide about 200 beds between the two facilities.

In the meantime, shelters have been advised to practice social distancing and adopt other measures recommended by health officials.

Chuck Semrow, a spokesman for the Union Gospel Mission, said staff are cleaning facilities round the clock in an attempt to keep everyone safe. It has also limited access to and from its men’s shelter, which provides beds for 400 people a day and meals for another 200, to one entry point.

People are screened for symptoms as they enter the facility and meal-times have been stretched to allow for more distancing in the cafeteria. Therapy session are also being conducted by phone and the organization temporarily closed its child-care center.

In addition to its men’s shelter, Union Gospel Mission runs several other facilities, including a women’s shelter for about 25 women and a recovery center.

EXTRA COSTS, BURDENS ON WORKERS

The mitigation efforts are adding up, Semrow said, adding they’ve likely cost about $250,000 to date.

The organization has also told volunteers to stay home for the time-being, heaping extra burdens on staff.

While so far the efforts seem to be working, Semrow said its important to have capacity in other facilities to serve as relief if it’s needed.

“It wouldn’t really be fair to our (clients) or our staff to not take these steps,” he said.

Staff at Catholic Charities also emphasized the need for a contingency plan.

It serves about 1,000 people a day at its two-building Dorothy Day Place campus, including about 700 who stay in shelter-settings at Higher Group or live in apartments, according to Wendy Underwood, vice president of social justice and engagement for the organization.

“People experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to infectious disease like COVID-19,” its web site says. “They often face underlying chronic health conditions that are not properly managed, mental health issues that may affect their ability to follow medical advice and (have) decreased access to facilities for personal hygiene and running water. We are also seeing more and more older adults experiencing homelessness.”

A North Oaks man is accused of swindling a client out of nearly $10,000 by charging them for a bathroom remodel that he never completed.

Two residents in St. Paul told an investigator that they found Kevin Donald Johnson’s company, Chief Concepts LLC, on the home improvement web site Home Advisor and asked if he’d be interested in remodeling their bathroom at their home on Howell Street in St. Paul, according to charges filed in Ramsey County District Court this week.

Johnson visited their house early last October and told the residents he was very familiar with the area as he recently flipped a house nearby and bid the job at $19,800, saying he wanted half of the total, or $9,900, up front, the criminal complaint said.

The residents agreed to the price, and wrote him a check for the amount Oct. 7, which Johnson reportedly promptly cashed the next day, according to the complaint.

That’s when communication with Johnson went dark, according to the complaint.

They residents repeatedly called and texted Johnson, but didn’t hear back from in until two months later, according to the charges.

Johnson finally returned one of their calls Dec. 8 and told them his work had been delayed because one of his employees had passed away and his father was hospitalized, promising to start the work the following week, the complaint said. When he didn’t show, the residents went to his business and demanded a refund.

Johnson said he didn’t have the money to return them, according to the charges, and the residents contacted police.

Johnson told the investigator who subsequently contacted him that he intended to do the work at the residents’ home but that the residents had left him a threatening message so his attorney had advised him to let police work it out, the complaint said.

When the investigator followed up more than a month and a half later, Johnson said he was filing for bankruptcy and that he didn’t have the money to finish projects he took money to do, including the St. Paul residents’ bathroom remodel, the complaint said.

He reportedly said he used the money for other things.

The investigator contacted the Better Business Bureau and learned that Johson had several complaints filed against him.

His contractor license was subsequently revoked Jan. 27.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged him with one count of theft by swindle, a felony.

Johnson could not be reached for comment and no attorney was listed for him in court records.

He has no criminal record in Minnesota.

A 45-year-old St. Paul man died Friday morning after he sped through a red light while heading northbound on U.S. Highway 61 and crashed into another vehicle.

The accident took place about 5:20 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and Lower Afton Road in St. Paul, according to the State Patrol.

Oliver Jermain Watkins struck a vehicle turning eastbound from Lower Afton Road onto southbound U.S. 61.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 61-year-old female from St. Paul, was uninjured.

She was wearing a seat belt at the time. Watkins was not.

The agency closed northbound U.S. 61 Friday morning while it investigated the crash.

A new order issued by the Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea further limits state court functions and delays many proceedings until late April in response to the spreading novel coronavirus.

Among the changes, only those cases involving in-custody defendants with pending adult or juvenile charges, juvenile protection cases, emergency conviction and housing matters, or other cases that involve an immediate threat to someone’s liberty or “when public or personal safety concerns are paramount” will continue to be held in courtrooms.

All other matters will be suspended until April 22 unless they can be handled via ITV or video or telephone conferencing.

In-custody defendants can also choose to attend their hearings remotely, as can their attorneys.

As far as jury trials, only those already underway will continue. All others will be postponed until after April 22.

Similarly, other than grand juries seated by Monday, all grand jury proceedings will be delayed until the same time.

The Minnesota Supreme Court and Minnesota Court of Appeals will continue to hear cases but is instructed in the order to conduct business via ITV and video and telephone conferencing whenever possible.

Public access to the courthouse will also be severely restricted, with members of the public only allowed inside court facilities for limited purposes, such as accessing a filing drop-box. To the extent possible, all court filings are supposed to be made electronically.

Additionally, aside from attorneys, defendants, presiding judges, necessary court staff and media, only people who are parties to a pending court case can be present in courtrooms.

Members of the media, though, need to get clearance to attend proceedings and are otherwise not allowed in courthouses.

The order remains in effect until April 22.

Ramsey County’s chief public defender, Jim Fleming, said that the limitations are necessary protections.

“Practically, we have to do this because of the safety of the people,” he said, adding that his office will continue to stand by its “constitutional mandate” and is in touch with clients.

The public defender’s office remains open, though staff who are able can work from home.

There will be a steep learning curve for all involved in the criminal justice system who will have to learn quickly to use technology to do the jobs they traditionally do in person, Fleming said, adding that he’s still not sure how it will work for defense attorneys who need to talk to in-custody clients.

“I think its going to be like all things. It will be bumpy at first and we will have to work out the bugs,” he said.

Court officials are continuing to monitor the latest information about COVID-19 and will make additional changes to court operations as needed.

Natasha Givens gave birth on the day of a new milestone at the Twin Cities hospital she delivered her baby boy.

It was the first day of new restrictions at M Health University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital for delivering mothers amid the spreading coronavirus.

Mothers could now only have one person accompany them, she and her husband, Danny Givens, Jr. were told when they arrived March 13 for Natasha’s planned cesarean birth.

That meant neither her parents who’d flown in from out of town, nor the couple’s three other children could wait in the hospital. The photographer they’d hired to document the birth had to be canceled. None of their loved ones could visit their hospital room to meet Icon Blaze Givens after he was born.

“We were hoping to be surrounded by family after the process and just even having a time of prayer as a family,” Danny Givens said. “But there was none of that.”

In addition to new rules for labor and delivery, pregnant woman faces changes to clinic visits, in-person access to their doctors and midwives, baby shower cancellations due to social-distancing, and rigid guidelines for keeping themselves and their newborns safe after birth.

The changes, and the awareness that more could be coming, have brought anxiety, disappointment and sadness for many new parents as they lose even more control of a situation they already have little over to begin with, according to local ob-gyns, midwives and other medical professionals.

HIGH-RISK; LIMITED DATA REASSURING ‘THUS FAR’

There is hopeful news, though. While research is limited and COVID-19 hasn’t been around long enough to understand its impacts on women in early pregnancy, initial studies suggest pregnant women who get the virus don’t develop severe symptoms the way they can with influenza and other respiratory illnesses, and that they don’t pass the virus along to their babies in utero, said Dr. Laura Colicchia, a perinatologist with Minnesota Perinatal Physicians who specializes in high risk pregnancies.

“Thus far the data is pretty reassuring,” she said. “They’ve tested amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood and (didn’t find it) and none of the babies at time of birth were positive.”

That’s from a study of nine mothers who gave birth in China, Colicchia said, adding that preliminary data out of Italy and the United Kingdom suggests the same findings.

Still, pregnant women are considered high risk given how other respiratory illnesses tend to present more severely in them and the limited research, she added.

“So the CDC is still … recommending women take social distancing measures — hand washing, staying six feet away from others, avoid large gatherings (like baby showers), work remotely when possible and stay away from any known patients with coronavirus or other respiratory illnesses.”

AFTER BIRTH, FAMILIES SHOULD QUARANTINE

There has been instances of newborns contracting the virus shortly after birth from positive mothers, Colicchia continued, but to date there have been no infants who have died from the virus, nor small children.

“So even though babies could become infected most babies do seem to do very well, Colicchia said.

That said, infants should be protected. Mothers with the virus should use good hand hygiene and cover their mouths and faces with masks when close to babies, or potentially have another caregiver for the baby immediately after birth.

COVID-19 has not been detected in breast milk so far, which means mothers should still breastfeed or pump and bottle feed while taking other precautions, Colicchia added.

Even mothers without the virus are advised to take precautions after birth, to protect both their recovering immune system and their baby’s new one, said LeeAnn Hubbard, an ob-gyn who serves as the medical director at Regions Birth Center.

“As hard as it is in that newborn period, we are recommending they don’t have any visitors … that they basically go home and quarantine,” Hubbard said.

“WHAT KIND OF WORLD IS IT GOING TO BE NOW”

It wasn’t until post-birth that Natasha Given realized the extent of the new world order she was living in.

She had some trouble scheduling her son’s first newborn check-up because of changes clinics are implementing around visits. When she arrived, staff were wearing masks and nurses were very hands-off. Her son’s circumcision was delayed because it’s not essential. And she had to push her doctor a little to get a second-check-up for her son after it was discovered he’d lost weight since birth.

“It really scared me, honestly,” Natasha Givens said. “I am thinking this is a newborn baby. We have to make sure that this baby is thriving.”

On top of everything, the new mom, who is an avid planner, said she’s struggling with baby blues, which some healthcare professionals said mothers should be extra vigilant for during these uncertain times.

“I just can’t believe my son was born on the first day the hospital was locked down. It’s like … what kind of world is it going to be now.”

SPIKE IN BIRTH CENTER, HOME BIRTHS INQUIRIES

Some pregnant women worry the restrictions could be even more rigid by the time they give birth.

The anxiety has led to spikes in inquiries at birth centers and among midwives who provide home births.

Emme Korbil, a midwife who owns Trillium Midwifery Care, normally fields one or two calls a week from women exploring home births. Lately it’s been more like five a day, she said.

Pat Hinck, a midwife and the director of midwifery at the Minnesota Birth Center, said the center has seen a “huge influx” in interest.

The birth center, a free-standing clinic not connected to a hospital, is allowing two visitors at births.

Both are only options for healthy mothers, and Colicchia warns against abandoning plans for hospitals births as labor and delivery outside of them come with their own risks.

PREGNANT WOMEN SHARE FEARS, ADVICE

Emily Allen, due in two months, said the pandemic has made her on edge about everything — from where to deliver to who will watch her older child when she goes into labor. The original plan was grandparents to help, but they are older and in the high-risk category.  For now, she is still planning to deliver at Abbott Northwestern Hospital; but other options are on the table.

“If something really bad happens and you need an ER, the hospital is where you want to be. But … add in a global pandemic and it’s kind of shifting the map on where the safest place to be is right now,” Allen said.

For Danielle Indovino Cawley, a Bloomington woman with a high risk pregnancy due in September, the hardest part has been the loss of control.

“You already have no control with pregnancy. I know that because I’ve had two losses … but now you have no control over anything in your life,” she said. “How can I prepare for what to do 13 weeks from now when I don’t even know what will happen in three weeks.”

Katie Kolodge of Minneapolis is due with her second child April 17. She and her husband are having another girl.

“That is the best part,” she said. “My husband and I were joking yesterday that she is definitely going to have her own special story being born under these circumstances … We can’t wait to meet her …. and just be on the other side of this.”

All inmates serving sentences for low-level, nonviolent offenses in Ramsey County as well as those classified as medically vulnerable will be released to electronic home monitoring.

The step reflects continued concerns about the spread of COVID-19 and is aimed at reducing “the risk of infection among both (the Ramsey County Correctional Facility’s) staff and the inmates in custody,” according to the order signed Sunday by Ramsey County Chief Judge John Guthmann.

The order applies to individuals serving sentences for all misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses, with noted exceptions, as well as those serving time for lower-level, non-violent felonies, such as theft, drug-possession and fraud, and those considered high-risk for catching or developing severe-symptoms from COVID-19.

“These are certainly extraordinary measures but they are needed and warranted given the circumstances,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said.

“It would be disastrous if we had an outbreak of COVID-19 in our jail and I think our local (judges), who are doing this in collaboration with all our (criminal justice partners), are doing the right thing,” Choi said.

Since the arrival of the virus in Minnesota, the correctional facility, commonly referred to as the workhouse, has released 85 inmates, according to Chris Crutchfield, deputy director of Community Relations for Ramsey County Corrections.

Twenty more will be released Tuesday because of the order, 12 of whom are high-risk due to medical conditions. The remaining eight are eligible for release because they meet other criteria in the new order, Crutchfield said.

ELIGIBILITY AND EXCEPTIONS

Eligible felony-offenses include offenses such as forgery, criminal damage to property, fraud, gambling, motor vehicle tampering and theft.

Exceptions to misdemeanor and gross-misdemeanor offenses include those individuals serving sentences for certain domestic-violence-related offenses, violations of harassment restraining orders or orders for protection, indecent exposure convictions and DWI convictions where the defendant was sentenced to serve more than 90 days in custody.

Individuals serving sentences for more serious crimes who are released because of medical vulnerability must be released on GPS monitoring with “high levels of supervision, including real-time position locating, the order said.

The order remains in effect until April 15.

SIMILAR ORDER ISSUED FOR INMATES AT COUNTY JAIL 

It follows a separate order issued by Guthmann last week granting authority to the Ramsey County Detention Center to release eligible individuals being held in the facility as their cases await trial.

Since criminal justice officials started talking about the threat of a COVID-19 outbreak amount inmates, 47 inmates have been released to electronic home monitoring to create more space in the facility for social distancing and quarantining, should the latter become necessary, according to Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher.

Other inmates have been released due to judge’s orders, however.

To date, no inmate has tested positive for the virus.

The jail’s total population is down substantially from its daily average of about 350 to 400 inmates since the start of the pandemic, Fletcher said. In addition to the release of some inmates, law enforcement is arresting about 30 percent fewer people and the facility is not transferring in as many inmates from other facilities because so many court hearings have been delayed.

On March 16, the jail’s population was 393, according to information Choi provided based on a daily update he and other criminal justice partners are receiving from jail staff.

As of Monday, the population was about 240. Fletcher said the aim is to reduce the population to about 200, that way each inmate can have his own cell.

“That is all part of social distancing. You can’t really social distance if you are in the same 6 by 10 foot cell,” he said.

JAIL STAFF ALSO NEED PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TO PROCESS INMATES

Steps have been taken to clear one of the jail’s pods as well, which is where any inmate contracts the virus will be quarantined.

Like other essential employees, including healthcare workers and firefighters, jail staff need surgical masks to keep them protected while they interact with inmates, Fletcher said.

New inmates also need masks until staff can be sure they are not symptomatic.

So have some they are relying on now, but it’s not enough, Fletcher said.

Hennepin County reduced its jail population by 26 percent over the last week as it mounts its own response to the virus, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The numbers dropped from 815 last Monday, to 602 on Friday.

The number of people experiencing homelessness is on the rise in Minnesota, especially among older adults, according to a study released Wednesday.

The findings are part of St. Paul’s Amherst H. Wilder Foundation’s annual examination of the state’s homeless population, which includes a deeper look at the demographics of the people who find themselves in the cohort as well the reasons why.

The study found a 10 percent increase among those experiencing homelessness across the state between 2015 and 2018, based on its point-in-time methodology, which counts the number of people who don’t have homes on a single night in October.

The study also uncovered a 25 percent increase in the number of people age 55 and over experiencing homelessness, and a 62 percent jump in the number of people who were not staying in a shelter, meaning they were either staying outside or temporarily doubling up with someone else.

Thirty two-percent of respondents said they had been turned away from shelters in the previous three months that were too full to take them, while 33 percent reported staying the night on a bus, light-rail train, or transit station in the past year.

‘STRETCHING AN ALREADY FRAGILE SYSTEM’

Those findings are particularly troubling as shelters have already started to see a substantial increase in demand for services since the spread of coronavirus, according to Tracy Berglund, senior director of housing stability for Catholic Charities.

“COVID-19 is stretching an already fragile system,” Berglund said, noting that people no longer have the option to ride the bus or light-rail overnight amid the shutdown.

The nonprofit has also seen an increase in demand for its “pay-for-stay” rooms by cooks, dishwashers, servers and others who have lost employment due to the pandemic.

“It’s all just cascading out,” she said.

CHRONIC PHYSICAL HEALTH DISORDERS

The study found that 81 percent of adults experiencing homelessness have a chronic physical health condition, while 64 percent struggle with mental illness and 24 percent substance use disorders. Fifty percent have co-occurring disorders.

The high number of chronic physical health disorders didn’t surprise Berglund, who said staff at the nonprofit’s shelters in Minneapolis and St. Paul have to increasingly try and find bottom bunk space to accommodate older, ailing clients.

While all of those living in confined shelters are vulnerable to coronavirus, those individuals are in particular. That reality prompted both Ramsey and Hennepin counties to prepare facilities to isolate and quarantine people experiencing homelessness who contract the virus or become symptomatic.

Hennepin County is isolating about 12 people at its facility; four people with fevers are being isolated in a medical respite inside Higher Ground in St. Paul while Ramsey County works to open its own facility.

Another notable finding in the study is the continued over-representation of African American and American Indians in the state’s homeless population, Berglund said.

PREVALENCE OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

The study also noted the prevalence of childhood trauma and among those experiencing homelessness, and found that 6 in 10 adults without homes have experienced physical or sexual violence.

And, the study highlighted how difficult it is to climb out of homelessness with limited affordable housing available statewide.

To that end, Berglund emphasized the need to continue to try and increase shelter capacity while simultaneously investing in more affordable housing.

One-hundred and forty beds will be available for people experiencing homelessness in Ramsey County who are showing symptoms of COVID-19 starting Friday.

The beds will be at Mary Hall — part of the former Dorothy Day Center in downtown St. Paul — thanks to efforts by Ramsey County and its partners.

The “respite facility” will provide “24/7 symptom monitoring, meals, security and transportation to and from the site,” according to Ramsey County officials.

Residents will be admitted based on referrals from Catholic Charities Higher Ground, Union Gospel Mission and Ramsey County Safe Space shelters based on screening criteria provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Housing and Urban Development.

Plans are also being developed to take referrals from hospitals and outreach workers who encounter people sleeping outside or in other public places.

The county plans to open a second facility at Kohler Hall on the shuttered Boys Totem Town site in St. Paul’s Battle Creek neighborhood in the coming weeks, the county reported.

Ramsey County Board members approved spending up to $1.8 million to open and operate the respite centers.

It is leasing Mary Hall from Catholic Charities and has selected Minnesota Community Care to staff the facilities, according to a Minnesota Community Care staff member.

Some 19,600 Minnesotans experienced homelessness in 2018, according to Wilder Research’s most recent homelessness study.

The study also noted that the number of people living without a home jumped 10 percent between 2015 and 2019, and a 25 percent increase in the number of people 55 and older in the cohort. It also noted that 81 percent of adults experiencing homelessness have some kind of chronic health condition.

The combination of age and chronic health conditions make many people experiencing homelessness especially vulnerable to COVID-19, experts say.

A coalition of activists is organizing a car sit-in outside Gov. Tim Walz’s residence Friday afternoon in an effort to call attention to their demands that state prisoners and ICE detainees be released from custody amid the coronavirus crisis.

Participants plan to stay in their vehicles due to social distancing guidelines before delivering a petition that has garnered some 800 signatures, according to Celeste Robinson, one of the activists.

The group will move to St. Paul’s ICE office later to make similar demands, Robinson said.

Protesters are calling for the release of all state prisoners and ICE detainees to protect inmates from a coronavirus outbreak.

The group is asking that the most vulnerable adults being held in the facilities be released first, along with non-violent criminals being held, Robinson said, noting that inmates at Rikers Island in New York were recently released due to the pandemic.

Among those involved are members of Release MN 8, No Cages Minnesota, Black Visions Collective, Minnesota Educators Against ICE, the Twin Cities Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, Interfaith Coalition on Immigration, Twin Cities Never Again Action, and the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America.

Ramsey and Hennepin counties have already released many low level offenders as well as inmates considered medically vulnerable in preparation for a COVID-19 outbreak in their facilities.

Minnesota’s Department of Corrections Commissioner, Paul Schnell, could not be immediately released for comment Friday, nor could anyone from ICE’s federal communications office.

A 40-year-old man was robbed and assaulted by three individuals in downtown St. Paul earlier this week, authorities say.

The man was near Fifth and Cedar streets when the three approached him just before midnight, according to criminal charges.

The three had been drinking and asked the man about getting high, according to the charges.

When the man told them he wasn’t interested, one of the assailants — Gerald Dean Burts, 31 — pulled out a knife and took his backpack, the charges say.

Then the group started to assault him, knocking him to the ground and punching and kicking him. At some point, the man was able to wrestle the knife away from Burts, according to the charges. He got up and went toward a nearby emergency button on a light-rail platform and called for help.

The incident reportedly was caught on surveillance video.

Police arrived and found the man bleeding from the head with cuts to both his knees. They found Burts in the area carrying the man’s wallet and arrested him.

James Dennis Wilson, 37, and De-Andre Dante Smith, 35, were arrested after being identified in the video, according to criminal complaints.

The men were all charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery.

Burts has six prior felony convictions, and was recently given a lighter sentence then what is recommended under state sentencing guidelines by a Ramsey County judge for failing to register as a predatory offender, authorities say.

Wilson and Smith have two prior felony convictions.

The men were expected to make their first appearance on Wednesday morning. No attorney was listed for them yet in court records.

More than 50 older adults experiencing homelessness in Ramsey County have been provided shelter at an area hotel to help protect them from COVID-19, according to a county spokesman.

Ramsey County and a team of other partners transported the group — who are all 60 or older – from Catholic Charities Higher Ground facility to the hotel, John Siqveland said.

The county is funding their stay to help free up capacity at the shelter and provide protection for the higher risk residents.

Metro Transit provided transportation to the InterContinental in St. Paul. It has not yet been determined how long they will stay.

“We will be evaluating this program on a week-to-week basis,” Siqveland said.

Catholic Charities said the move was an important step.

“For years, our  Catholic Charities Homeless Elders team has worked to improve the lives of older adults experiencing homelessness, and we know that this population is more likely to have underlying health conditions that make it more difficult for them to cope with and recover from illnesses like COVID-19,” said Melea Blanchard, program supervisor for Catholic Charities Homeless Elders Program. “This partnership will help keep this vulnerable population safe and will also allow for additional social distancing in our shelters and opportunity centers.”

The county also offered shelter to youth experiencing homelessness this past weekend as part of a pilot program launched in response to community concerns that young people are particularly vulnerable right now because their access to certain nonprofit resources has been cut off amid the pandemic.

Of 38 youth identified by outreach staff, 18 applied to stay at the hotel over the weekend and five showed up, Siqveland said. In addition to lodging, the youth were provided meals. The county plans to continue to assess the viability of that program as well.

The state’s attorney general and U.S. attorney have assembled a team aimed at clamping down on illegal activity related to the coronavirus.

It will focus on investigating and prosecuting crimes that exploit the pandemic, such as price-gouging, scams, hoarding of essential medical supplies, cyber-crimes and “schemes targeting economic impact payments,” along with other related criminal activity, according to information released Monday.

The team also will field concerns related to hate-crimes connected to coronavirus.

Authorities are asking residents to be on the lookout for such behaviors, and to report them to the newly formed Minnesota COVID-19 Action Team via a COVID-19-specific complaint form. Residents can also call the Attorney General’s office directly at (651) 296-3353 or (800) 657-3787.

The team will be lead by the attorney general’s office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Minnesota County Attorneys Association, and will serve as a “clearinghouse” for such complaints that will then be fielded out to the appropriate criminal and civil investigative agencies.

“The vast majority of people and businesses … (are) doing right by each other, their customers, and communities, and we thank them. But for those that aren’t — for those who are profiteering off the pandemic or using it as a pretext to attack other people — we’re not standing for it. We’re pooling all our resources to come after them and to help all other Minnesotans afford their lives and live with dignity and respect,” Attorney General Ellison said in a statement on the task force.

Citations for violating Gov. Tim Walz’ orders to stay at home and halt business operations have started trickling in across the state, including a few in the metro area.

As of Monday, eight people were charged with violating the emergency orders. The orders require bars and restaurants to halt dine-in services as well as having residents largely stay at home. Violating the order is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $1,000 or 90 days in jail.

The first was issued in Faribault County on March 26. Two others have been issued in Dakota County, and one each in Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington, Traverse and Mille Lacs counties.

Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota say they are monitoring law enforcement’s response to the orders to make sure it doesn’t disproportionately impact communities of color or create adverse health risks.

“If criminal citations are necessary they should be handled by citation, not booking someone into jail where they cannot social distance,” said Teresa Nelson, the organization’s legal director. “We know the minute COVID-19 enters a facility it can spread like wildfire so that would be counterproductive to the intent of the (stay at home order).”

So far, Nelson said she wasn’t aware of anyone being booked into jail solely for violating one of the emergency orders.

Maplewood police issued a citation to Mahmoud Mohammad Salit April 3 for continuing to operate his tobacco store on White Bear Avenue after officers warned one of his employees that the business did not meet the state’s “essential” criteria and had to close, said Lt. Dan Busack.

Salit could not be reached for comment Monday.

Dakota County issued citations to two individuals a couple days earlier after responding to a call about someone shooting paint-balls at a residence on the 7200 block of River Road, said Inver Grove Heights Patrol Cmdr. Dennis Haugland.

When officers responded, they found the vehicle involved and charged one of the occupants with criminal damage to property, possession of marijuana and violating an emergency order, court records say. A female passenger was cited for violating the emergency order.

The citations should not suggest the department is going after people who don’t follow the order, Haugland said.

“We are focusing heavily on education and trying to get the word out … and trying to follow the governor’s message to flatten the curve,” Haugland said. “(But these) two parties were out there doing things they probably shouldn’t have … They weren’t going to the store … They weren’t going to work.”

Due to data privacy, McAlister said he wasn’t at liberty to disclose details, but said the officer had reason to believe the woman’s outing did not meet the state order’s allowable exceptions, which include leaving the house for essential travel, health and safety reasons, to get groceries and other services, to engage in outdoor activities or to care for another.

“We have made lots of traffic stops since the order went into effect and nobody else has received this citation,” McAlister said.

He added that the his department has fielded “multiple calls” from residents concerned about violations, noting that none of those resulted in citations either.

McAlister and other law enforcement spokespeople said their departments aim to educate people about the order.

As of Monday morning, St. Paul had not issued a citation, said spokesman Steve Linders, nor had the Ramsey County sheriff’s office.

Sheriff Bob Fletcher said the department has received complaints though, including the use continued use of basketball courts at some parks. That’s the one giving him particular concern, he said, because it involves close contact between players and a shared ball.

The department hopes signs now posted at parks will start deterring the games, but if that doesn’t work, the sheriff’s office plans to suggest its partner cities remove hoops.

“We hope we don’t have to take that measure but if we really want to stop the spread of this contagion we can’t be having basketball games,” he said.

The ACLU is concerned that so far law enforcement does not appear to be enforcing the order consistently, said Nelson. She warned against agencies tossing the violation onto a list of charges facing an individual suspected of more serious criminal conduct.

“It seems like police are kind of piling on violations on top of other charges … and that does not seem appropriate,” she said.