Amber Alert in Red Lake: Child torture charges dismissed against mother
TODD COUNTY, Minn. (FOX 9) - Prosecutors dismissed child abuse charges against a mother who was the subject of an Amber Alert out of Red Lake.
Law enforcement issued an Amber Alert on March 15 and later stopped 35-year-old Jennifer Marie Stately on Highway 71 in Todd County. The criminal complaint said her child was in the backseat and appeared to be in rough shape with wounds over much of his body.
Stately was arrested and later charged in Todd County with third-degree assault of a child under the age of 4, malicious punishment of a child, neglect of a child, and child torture.
Her attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges, stating the alleged acts did not occur in Todd County and the court does not have jurisdiction in Red Lake under Public Law 280.
The federal law allows six states, including Minnesota, to have jurisdiction over criminal matters on Indian Reservations. However, the Red Lake Reservation is exempt from that federal law.
"Ms. Stately has a constitutional right, state and federal, to be tried before a jury from the county in which the acts are alleged to have occurred," the motion read.
Prosecutors filed to dismiss the charges against Stately on Monday for "the interest of justice." It’s unknown whether any new charges will be filed in the case.
