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Grand jury may be called in alleged Arctic Blast assaultsBy Dawn Slade The lack of cooperation from key witnesses in two sexual assault cases that occurred during the Minnesota Vikings Arctic Blast fundraiser last winter may cause the county to convene a grand jury. The two alleged assaults occurred separately at Eddy's Resort on Mille Lacs Lake in February. The investigation has slowed to a crawl, thanks to the lack of cooperation from Vikings players, past players and personnel who have not consented to being interviewed, according to the sheriff's office. Mille Lacs County Attorney Jan Kolb will get the investigative file this week, which Sheriff Brent Lindgren said includes hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of documents. Ultimately it's the county attorney's decision as to whether the county can press charges, decline to press charges, or convene a grand jury. Lindgren said of convening a grand jury, "I've recommended that we proceed in that avenue." No one has been named a suspect by the sheriff's office but former Viking Todd Bouman, who currently plays for New Orleans, is one player the sheriff's department wants to question. By convening a grand jury the county can supplement its investigation by having people subpoenaed. At this point, Lindgren pointed out, no one is obligated to talk with the sheriff's office. "You can gain something from that," Lindgren said of the subpoena process. "It's another way for us to reach our goal in getting the truth." Unlike a trial jury, a grand jury of 16 to 23 people can question witnesses during the process. Defense attorneys are not allowed in the courtroom during a grand jury, nor is the public or media. The only people allowed in the courtroom are the jurors, the active prosecutors, the witnesses (one at a time) and the judge. A parent could be in the courtroom if the witness were a minor, or a peace officer could be if the witness were in custody. If a grand jury is convened, Kolb and assistant county attorney Wade Kish would be involved in the process. While the county attorney has been kept up to date by the sheriff's department, Kolb says she will need time to go through the file and determine what the next step will be. Kolb anticipates it will take three to four days to review the file and hopes to make a decision by next week. "From the conversations we've had, I agree with him [Sheriff Lindgren]," Kolb said, "but we want to review the entire file before we make a decision." Princeton Union-Eagle |