(Spirit Lake)– Siting a procedural error, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office has filed a motion in Dickinson County District Court to dismiss charges of theft in the fourth degree and non-felonious misconduct in office against former Spirit Lake Police Chief Dan Thomsen.
In a letter to Dickinson County Attorney Rosalise Olson, Doug Marek, Deputy Attorney General, says a criminal complaint was filed by his office March 14th, but trial information wasn’t filed until April 11th. Iowa law requires the filing of trial information within three years of when Thomsen left his employment with the city, which was on or before March 15th, 2002. As a result, Marek says the A-G’s Office has filed a motion to have the charges dismissed.
The charges were the result of a state audit that turned up unauthorized checking accounts in the Spirit Lake Police Department during Thomsen’s tenure as Chief. The investigation concluded that about 302-dollars may have been misappropriated over several years.
Thomsen pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this week in Dickinson County District Court. The matter was scheduled to go to trial June 14th.
Meanwhile, there was still no word today (Fri.) as to whether or not a settlement agreement between two former Spirit Lake police officers and the city will be made public. After meeting in closed session Thursday, the Spirit Lake city council voted to authorize the City Attorney’s Office to contact lawyers for Doug Ricke and Larry Moorhead to see what their thoughts are on the matter.
The former officers sued the city claiming they were victims of retaliation and were fired or demoted for not wanting to comply with what they called a gag order by city officials who let Thomsen make a deal and resign.
