• Sentenced in connection with incident in Royal
Matthew Alan Young, 25, of Spencer, has pled guilty to two charges in connection with an incident that occurred in Royal.
Young was arrested on Oct. 24 after stabbing Cassandra Bicking, 26, multiple times at a residence in Royal. He was originally charged with Attempted Murder, a class B felony; Willful Injury Causing Bodily Injury, a class C felony; and Going Armed with Intent, a class D felony. He entered an initial plea of not guilty to all charges.
Records indicate that Young changed his plea on the Attempted Murder and Willful Injury charges to guilty on Dec. 22 in Clay County District Court. The charge of Going Armed with Intent was dismissed as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Judge Nancy Whittenburg sentenced Young to 25 years for the first charge and an additional five years for the second, with the sentences to be served consecutively. He must serve at least 70 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole or work release. Young must also pay a fine of $1,025.
• Loses control avoiding deer on road
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office reported that Jayden Joenks, 18, of Gillett Grove, was southbound near the intersection of 260th Avenue and 340th Street, at midnight on Dec. 8, when he swerved to miss a deer in the roadway and lost control of his vehicle. It entered the southwest ditch at the intersection and came to rest on the passenger side.
No injuries were reported. Damage to the 2004 Ford Expedition was estimated at $2,000. Joenks was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.
• Another deer on the road
Crystal Leann Walter Harms, 42, of Rushmore, Minn., was northbound in the 3100 mile of Northwest Boulevard at 10:25 a.m. on Dec. 23 when her 2021 Toyota C-HR struck a deer that ran onto the road. The O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office listed the estimated damage to the vehicle as $6,719.