Reporter | Federal Courts and Law Enforcement

Stephen Montemayor covers federal courts and law enforcement. He previously covered Minnesota politics and government.

A native of Kansas City, Montemayor lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two cats. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in journalism and enjoys camping, travel and a good beer.


Suit: Staff at Anoka jail withheld opioid withdrawal meds from inmate who collapsed, was injured

A new federal lawsuit is taking aim at Anoka County and an embattled private for-profit health company contracted to provide services at the county jail.


Member of Highs gang given nearly 20-year sentence in federal racketeering case

Montez Brown, 32, was caught with 9,700 fentanyl pills, thousands of dollars in cash, and two firearms during an April 2023 arrest amid the ongoing federal crackdown on Twin Cities gangs.


Gustavus professor accused of fraud to remain jailed after threatening U.S. Attorney

A magistrate judge on Wednesday ordered the professor to undergo a mental health evaluation while in jail as his fraud case proceeds.


Gustavus Adolphus accounting professor indicted on fraud charges over embezzlement claims

James Anthony Kroger is accused of taking more than $690,000 invested by a business partner and using it on 'extravagant personal purchases' while laundering money and filing a sham bankruptcy claim to conceal the scheme.


FBI arrests Minneapolis man, 59, linked to bombing, vandalizing salon over consecutive years

Michael Allen Francisco allegedly confessed to setting off a bomb at the Studio 411 salon in Minneapolis in 2022 before returning to toss a brick through its window a year later.


Man arrested in probe of Inver Grove Heights bank robbery gets 10-year sentence for illegal gun possession

Deundrick McIntosh pleaded guilty to gun charges last year but his attorney said evidence linking him to robbery was "circumstantial."


Feds: Owatonna man who threatened to kill police at Capitol tried to get shotgun back, build new guns

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Dayton Sauke to two more years of prison after he violated the terms of supervised release. Investigators found more posts in support of far-right extremist groups.


29 years in federal prison for Pine City man who used Snapchat to victimize hundreds of young girls

Federal prosecutors say Caleb Vincent McLaughlin perpetrated 'by far' one of Minnesota's worst child-exploitation cases.


Apple Valley man led police on high speed chases, found with escalating amounts of drugs and guns in four run-ins since 2020

A federal judge this week sentenced Timothy Allen Torell Wetzstein to 13 1/2 years in prison in what prosecutors described as a 'drug-and-gun-and-fleeing escapade.'


Charges: Girlfriend bought AR-15 style firearms for felon weeks before Burnsville ambush

Shannon Cortez Gooden was legally barred from possessing guns at the time of the Feb. 18 standoff that claimed the lives of three first responders.