I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
Nov. 16, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
A 20-year-old Red Lake man pleaded guilty Monday to assualt charges in United States District Court in Minneapolis.
Derrick Scott Strong -- also known as Derrick Scott Whitefeather -- pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault for a shooting incident involving three others from Red Lake, according to a United States District Attorney news release. He pleaded in front of Judge David Doty.
Strong admitted that on June 20 he shot a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle at a motor vehicle. One round struck a juvenile female in the chest. The firearm used in the shooting was stolen in a car theft in Bemidji on May 26.
Strong faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. Judge Doty will base the actual sentence on federal sentencing guidelines, with a sentencing date expected in eight to 10 weeks.
The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI and Red Lake law enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw prosecuted the case.
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