Baxter man convicted of crimes in Cass and Crow Wing counties – Brainerd Dispatch

BRAINERD — A 29-year-old Baxter man was recently sentenced in Cass and Crow Wing counties for two separate crimes in 2024.

Timothy Dewayne Flatt pleaded guilty on November 22, 2024 to gross misdemeanor obstruction of legal process by

obstructing a peace officer and theft

in Cass County. Misdemeanor interfering with a peace officer charge was dismissed.

In April 2024, Flatt pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault

causing bodily harm to another person

in Crow Wing County. As part of the plea agreement, the crime of domestic assault by strangulation was dropped.

In August, Flatt was sentenced in Crow Wing County District Court to 90 days in the Crow Wing County Jail and fined $310. He was given 58 days in prison.

In November, he was sentenced in Cass County District Court to 364 days in the Cass County Jail, stayed on supervised release for two years and was fined $135.

Court documents show that on May 13, 2024, Cass County deputies responded to a report of a theft at the Cass County Courthouse in Walker.

In the courthouse, a deputy serves as security on the first floor of the building. The deputy left the station to assist another employee. When he returned to his desk, he found that his cell phone was gone.

Immediately checking the surveillance video, a few moments after he left, the deputy noticed a man and a woman exiting the elevator behind the security station. The deputy said he recently took a man and a woman through security and placed them on probation.

Flatt was observed on camera reaching across the desk and grabbing his phone. He then put it in his pocket and left the building.

An outdoor camera captured Flatt walking on the sidewalk toward the parking lot. When he was approximately 5-20 feet from the entrance, the camera captured him throwing an object onto the grass. The phone was lying exactly where he had thrown the object.

Deputies located Flatt walking west on Breezy Point Circle and informed Flatt they wanted to speak to him about the incident at the courthouse.

Flatt immediately reacted aggressively, stated he did not want to talk and continued west, Cass County said. Deputies informed Flatt that he was in custody. Flatt began to walk away, stating that it was a misunderstanding and “there was no need to talk.”

Flatt continued to ignore commands and attempted to quickly enter through the front passenger door of the vehicle that had just stopped.

The deputy then grabbed Flatt’s right arm and tried to put his hands behind his back. Flatt immediately moved away and tried to escape. He ignored commands to shake hands with the deputy and continued to attempt to move toward the rear of the vehicle and pull his hands forward away from the deputy.

Flatt began to comply for a moment and put his hands behind his back, but he still tried to walk away. As the deputy attempted to handcuff Flatt, he veered toward the ditch again. Flatt then twisted out of his shirt in an attempt to escape.

During the fight, Flatt pushed the deputy and sent him sprawling on his back into a ditch. Other deputies arrived and Flatt continued to resist, failed to comply and placed his left arm under his body. Ultimately, Flatt was handcuffed and restrained.

The deputy had marks on his arms from this encounter.

Court documents state that on December 31, 2023, officers responded to a report of a physical disturbance at a residence on Kenwood Drive in Baxter. When officers arrived, they found a female victim in the parking lot with blood on her hands and face and visible red marks on her face. The marks on her face were consistent with a fist print, and there was a red mark on her neck that appeared to be the beginning of a bruise and visible blood vessels that looked like they had burst.

The victim told officers that Flatt punched and kicked her in the face multiple times and then fled the parking lot. Officers saw tracks in the snow and she confirmed they belonged to Flatt.

Officers established a perimeter and multiple K-9 warnings were issued for Flatt to come out during the arrest. Flatt was located walking on Art Ward Drive.

Once officers located Flatt, they returned to the woman’s apartment to take a statement from her. She testified that he punched her, kicked her in the face, knocked her to the ground and choked her so that she couldn’t breathe. She then tried to run into the parking lot, where Flatt chased her and continued to attack her. She believed that Flatt hit her approximately 10 times during the attack.

Flatt denied assaulting the victim but admitted consuming alcohol and his initial breathalyzer test showed a blood alcohol level of 0.274.

TIM SPEIER, the author of the article, can be contacted on Twitter

@timmy2thyme

call 218-855-5859 or email

[email protected]

.