Tommy Salyers III
A Koochiching County jury’s verdict, as well as a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision, has been upheld by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
The conviction of Tommy Salyers III, 41, International Falls, for being a felon in possession of firearms in violation of his conditions as a registered sex offender, was upheld Wednesday by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
His conviction carried a five-year prison sentence, which he is serving in Moose Lake, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. He is scheduled to be released Jan. 6, 2016.
The appeal stems from guns found in a locked safe found inside Salyers’ bedroom. Salyers argued the evidence found when Koochiching County deputies Sept. 7, 2012, executed a search warrant at his home did not support he was in possession of the weapons because a woman who had moved out of the home days earlier claimed she owned one of the guns and the safe.
Justice Alan C. Page wrote in the decision, “the direct evidence of appellant’s exclusive control over the safe in which firearms were located was sufficient to support appellant’s conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm,” as well as in possession of a firearm with no serial number, and in possession of a short-barreled shotgun.
While the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the Appeals Court ruling, it rejected the lower court’s reasoning for its ruling. The Supreme Court said the lower court’s ruling was based on the guns being readily accessible, while it based its ruling on evidence Salyers had exclusive control over the guns and safe.
The court rejected Salyers’ contention his exclusive control over the location of the safe does not establish constructive possession of the contents of the safe given the woman’s claim of ownership of the safe and she had recently lived in the home.
The court said his contentions had no merit. It said a person can possess property even if another person owns it. The court said there is no evidence the claim the woman lived in the home has any bearing on Salyers’ exclusive control over the safe and its contents at the time of the search as she had left the guns and safe behind when she moved out.
The state was represented in the appeal by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, with Assistant Attorney General James Early taking the lead, supported by information provided by Koochiching County Attorney Jeff Naglosky.
Salyers was represented by Chief Appellate Public Defender Cathryn Middlebrook, and Assistant Appellate Public Defender Michael W. Kunkel.
The decision and information about the case can be found online at www.mncourts.gov/?page=230.
The International Falls School District could face cuts in the near future.
The Falls School Board is expected to consider directing administration to make recommendations for reductions in programs and positions, along with supporting justification for those recommendations, when it meets next week.
Because Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the board will meet 5 p.m. Tuesday in the cafeteria at Falls High School.
Should a motion be approved allowing administration to take the reigns on reduction recommendations, a resolution will be passed by the board.
The board will also consider restructuring its hiring committee requirements following a recommendation by the Minnesota School Board Association.
Following the regular meeting, the board will meet in closed session for an appraisal review of Superintendent Kevin Grover.
This is Grover's first year in the position as the district's top administrator. He was hired by the board last May.
A summary statement of Grover's performance appraisal with goals and objectives is expected to be delivered when the meeting is reopened.
Grover, along with school principals Melissa Tate and Tim Everson, will also offer their monthly reports to the board.
Also Tuesday, the board is expected to:
- Consider approving formation of a drama club at Falls High School.
- Receive the 2015-16 revenue budget for adoption.
- Receive a revised policy of student activity accounts.
- Approve a contract with the International Falls Figure Skating Club for summer ice time rental during the month of July in the amount of $800.Â
- Acknowledge a sixth-grade fundraiser for the annual sixth-grade trip to the Twin Cities.
- Acknowledge a fourth-grade fundraiser for an annual trip to the Long Lake Conservation Center.Â
- Acknowledge Steve Joslyn as a volunteer boy's swim coach.Â
- Approve the hire of Jamie Hell as a 0.75 full-time equivalent secretary.Â
- Accept the resignation of Janell Ice as an educational support professional.Â
- Accept the resignation of Tiffany Reineck as an educational support professional.Â
Average retail gasoline prices in Minnesota have fallen 6.9 cents in the past week, averaging $1.93 per gallon Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 2,856 gas outlets in Minnesota. This compares with the national average that has decreased 5.4 cents in the last week to $2.12 per gallon, according to gasoline price website MinnesotaGasPrices.com.
Regular gas prices in International Falls, according to the site, ranged from $1.87 to $2.19 this week.
Including the change in gas prices in Minnesota during the past week, prices Sunday were 127.6 cents per gallon lower compared to the same day one year ago and are 54.3 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 48.6 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 118.7 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.
“All in all, it wasn’t a bad week for motorists filling their tanks. Since last week, some 12,000 stations dropped their price under $2 per gallon, with 45.1 percent of all gas stations – nearly 61,000 – now selling under the $2 per gallon mark. The national average currently stands at its lowest since May 9, 2009, a date that saw 8.9 percent unemployment and Phil Jackson coaching the Los Angeles Lakers toward the NBA title,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. “This time around, the drop in gasoline is far more joyous and isn’t overshadowed by a polar plunge in the economy. And it doesn’t stop there. Overnight, the average price for diesel fuel in the U.S. dropped under $3 per gallon for the first time since Oct. 2, 2010, and will shed yet another 25-50 cents per gallon before reaching a bottom. Meanwhile, various domestic mid-continent crudes have dropped to the $30 per barrel range, or in the danger zone- territory where oil companies are starting to cut back on operations- a zone that could ultimately result in a slingshot back in prices down the road,” DeHaan noted.
GasBuddy.com is a tool to help motorists save money at the pump by collecting gas price data and displaying it on websites and on a free smartphone app that has been downloaded over 37 million times. The site operates MinnesotaGasPrices.com and more than 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at more than 140,000 gasoline stations in the United States and Canada.
