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She wept as she sat at the defendant’s table and heard prosecutors charge her with one count of felony assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of misdemeanor domestic assault.
“I didn’t do it,” she said between sobs.
Judge Jeff Thompson was not amused, telling her several times to calm down so the hearing could proceed.
Stanek, 26, continued to interrupt the proceedings, blaming the disruptions on nerves.
“Please don’t do this,” she pleaded. “I miss my kids, and I want to go home.”
Thompson set Stanek’s bail at $20,000 and at $5,000 with conditions she not have contact with the alleged victim. Stanek has since bonded out of jail and is set to return to court May 29.
According to police, Stanek became upset with her boy-friend Tuesday when he ate leftovers in their refrigerator. She allegedly attacked the 34-year-old man with a squeegee, her casted arm and a steak knife. Stanek claimed self-defense, saying the man had “plunged” her face with a toilet plunger.
‘Deer cam’ pill thief
Heather Ann Dulek, 29, appeared in Winona County District Court to discuss evidentiary issues in her case and to hear two new burglary charges brought against her.
Dulek is now charged with four felony counts of burglary and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted.
According to the criminal complaint, she snuck into a home in Dakota, Minn., on April 4 and snatched three tablets of acetaminophen and codeine. The homeowners had suspected someone was filching pills and set up a motion-sensitive “deer cam.” The camera captured images of Dulek swiping the medication.
Dulek entered pleas of not guilty to her original two charges and was granted a furlough from the jail to attend in-patient drug treatment. She is scheduled to return to court July 24.
No evidence, no hearing
Judge Jeff Thompson was visibly — and audibly — upset with the Winona County Attorney’s Office during an evidentiary hearing regarding the criminal sexual conduct case of Justin Casey Jacobson.
Thompson was disturbed because there was no evidence to discuss.
Jacobson’s public defender, Karin Sonneman, told the court she had received three discs of audio recordings of witness statements and alleged confessions made by Jacobson, but none of the discs worked on her computer.
Thompson explained it is the county attorney’s office’s duty to hand over evidence to the defense in a “usable form.” If they can’t, he said, he would entertain a motion to suppress everything they have at trial.
Five felony charges of criminal sexual conduct allege Jacobson, 18, had sexual encounters with two 13- and 14-year-old girls in February. He faces a presumptive sentence of five years in prison if convicted.
Thursday’s hearing was reset for June 18.
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
