Former Crosby Mayor James Hunter made quite a few headlines in 2019.
Hunter was charged in March 2017 in Crow Wing County District Court in Brainerd with felonies of second-degree assault, theft by swindle, receiving stolen property and unlawful gambling, and a gross misdemeanor for selling vehicle financing without a license. Hunter also was charged in August 2017 for falsely reporting a crime in a separate case.
Hunter was elected in November 2016 for a two-year term as Crosby mayor. He was arrested four months later in March 2017. He handed in his resignation as mayor in August 2017.
During a two-year-long court battle, all the charges against Hunter — tried separately — were dismissed or he was acquitted by a jury of his peers. The case ended April 19, when the last of the two charges were dismissed.
Since the case ended, both attorneys have publicly spoken out, not allowing the case to fall out of the public eye. Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan hosted a “press briefing” June 18 about allegations made against him and the county attorney’s office regarding the decisions made in prosecuting the case. He also wanted to set the record straight on arguments made by the defense attorney reported in previous Brainerd Dispatch stories, such as: charges should have never been filed because the case was politically motivated against his client, false accusations were made and the Crosby Police Department should have never investigated its own mayor.
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Then on Sept. 20, Hunter spoke publicly during a brief news conference hosted by his attorney Ed Shaw at Shaw’s law office in Brainerd. Shaw announced the filing of a lawsuit by Hunter alleging two former officials of the Crosby Police Department defamed Hunter by falsely accusing him of several crimes.
The defamation complaint, filed in Crow Wing County District Court, lists former Police Chief Kim Coughlin, former Lt. Kevin Randolph and the city of Crosby as the defendants, seeking to hold them accountable for what Shaw described in a news release as systematic harassment against his client.
Attorney Joe Flynn of Lake Elmo-based law firm Jardine, Logan & O'Brien represents the defendants in the case.
“We don't believe the allegations in the complaint have merit and we intend to respond to Mr. Hunter in court in the next few days,” Flynn previously told the Dispatch during a phone interview.
The lawsuit remains in the courts headed into the new year.
Visit https://bit.ly/2MIJ1l4 for the rest of the Brainerd Dispatch's 2019 Top 10 list.
