Two cases set for trial waived and get new court dates

Jun. 22—A Glencoe man that was charged with murder in the second-degree waived his jury trial set for this week.

Tyler Ryba was accused of driving under the influence in 2018 and causing a fatal collision.

Stillwater resident Karen Nelson was killed after she was hit head-on by Ryba on Highway 33 near Fairgrounds Road.

Ryba was set to begin a jury trial Monday, but at his last court date he waived his jury trial.

This case had been set for jury trial in June of last year, but because jury trials weren't being scheduled due to the pandemic, it was stricken.

Ryba will appear in court July 6 to possibly plead guilty to the second-degree murder charge.

Assistant District Attorney Kevin Etherington said there wasn't a plea deal with the state.

A Stillwater man charged with multiple cases of sexual abuse against several kids waived his right to a jury trial in all three cases.

Joseph Scott Rood was charged with three separate cases of molestation over a period of several years.

The allegations of abuse were reported in 2019.

In the first case, he was charged with one count of child sexual abuse and in the second case, he was charged with three counts of lewd molestation.

The final case he was charged with two more counts of lewd molestation.

All these cases are for separate victims with various ages and with different timeframes of abuse.

He will be in court July 20, for further pretrials in all three cases.