County attorney Thomas Laehn wants the public to know there are no “get out of jail free” cards for crimes committed in Greene County. He talked with the county supervisors at their April 27 meeting, hoping for press coverage on that topic.
Laehn said he had received phone calls from members of the public about his extradition policy. In recent months he has extradited from Minnesota and Texas persons charged with crimes in Greene County. “My concern is that if we don’t extradite people from other states essentially everyone gets one get out of jail free card. You can commit a crime in Greene County as long as you’re willing to leave and not come back. There’s no consequences,” he said.
He discusses cases with sheriff Jack Williams in making decisions to extradite. He said he recently extradited someone from Minnesota for a crime committed seven years ago*. “We still want to get justice in those cases,” he said.
He also briefed the supervisors on warrant resolution clinics held by the Polk County attorney. Persons with outstanding warrants can meet with a judge had have the warrant withdrawn after setting a court date. He said there is no such program in Greene County and there are no opportunities for amnesty. He said on a case-by-case basis he does occasionally withdraw a warrant, but it’s after consulting with the sheriff.
He said the legislature is thinking of banning the use of warrant clinics, and that he is in general opposed to the legislature dictating how things are done at the county level.
He spoke of the recent jury trial that resulted in Christene Thompson being found guilty of murder in the first degree, noting that a sentence of life in prison is mandatory for that charge. “I’m very proud of my office and law enforcement. The sheriff’s office did a fantastic job, as always, building our case… There’s not a county our size in the state of Iowa that would have handled this prosecution. Any other county our size would have given this to the AG’s office to prosecute,” he said.
He and assistant county attorney Laura Snider prosecuted the crime. He commended the sheriff’s office and Snider, saying the work of prosecuting the case was divided evenly and she did as much work as he.
Laehn and Snider are now preparing for the trial of Nolan Wilson of Grand Junction, charged with murder- first degree and child endangerment causing death**. The trial is scheduled to begin May 12. Laehn advised the supervisors he would be unable to do some of the routine work he does until that trial is concluded.
A resolution approving the hiring of James Heiliger as part-time county attorney effective May 1 was on the supervisors’ agenda for later in the meeting. Laehn said assistant county attorney Kaitlyn Willms’ last day would be April 30.
Heiliger is assistant county attorney in Calhoun and Sac counties, where he handles the magistrate dockets. He will do the same in Greene County. Laehn said he’s a good attorney with experience.
Greene County has a 28E agreement in place with Calhoun and Sac counties for Heiliger’s services, but it doesn’t go into effect until Jan. 1. Laehn asked for Heiliger’s start date to be moved up to provide a smooth transition with Willms’ departure. “In my seven years as county attorney we have not lost a single case on a technicality. We’ve met every deadline. There aren’t many prosecutors who can say that… It’s so important to me that we have a smooth passing of the baton come January 1,” Laehn said.
The supervisors approved the resolution with an annual salary of $35,000. Heiliger will be in the county Wednesdays.
In other business, the supervisors set a public hearing on the proposed easements of property to Red Lion Solar for May 11 at 9 am. Actions the supervisors took to approve the FY 2027 budget are noted in an earlier post on GCNO.
*Kayla Leigh Lundgren, 36, of Fairmont, MN, charged with forgery and theft- fourth degree in April 2017. She pleaded guilty to the forgery charge April 17; sentencing has not yet been done. **A charge is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty.
