Firefighter pleads not guilty to stealing $120 from dead teens

The theft charge Tara Lindquist faces carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine

September 17, 2015 10:14 AM

Fergus Falls Daily Journal

DALTON, Minn. — A Dalton volunteer firefighter pleaded not guilty Monday in Otter Tail County District Court on charges of stealing cash from the wallets of two teenage brothers killed in a crash on Interstate 94 in June.

Tara Kimberly Lindquist, 42, allegedly told investigators that she took $120 from a wallet she found on the side of the freeway at the June 23 crash and used it to pay her power bill. She was at the crash as an emergency responder with Dalton Fire and Rescue, the court complaint said. The crash killed Moorhead brothers Zach, 18, and Connor Kvalvog, 14.

In court, Lindquist entered a not guilty plea to the charge of misdemeanor theft. Judge Waldemar Senyk set her pre-trial hearing for 10 a.m. Nov. 9. She made no comments.

Lindquist previously requested, on Aug. 31, to have closed courtroom hearings as she and her family had received threats following the publicity of the charges. Senyk denied the request, noting American courts are open to public scrutiny.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is handling the investigation into the theft from the crash because the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office has a working relationship with the Dalton Fire and Rescue.

The charges came after Ray Kvalvog, the brothers’ father, reported each boy was given $100 in cash for the trip, but their wallets were empty when they were returned to their parents in June. The sons were headed to a basketball camp in Wisconsin.

The discrepancy between the $200 in cash and the $120 Lindquist mentioned to investigators remains to be determined.

The 2012 Dodge Ram the two were in on June 23 hit the shoulder on the north side of the eastbound Interstate 94 near the Dalton exit, corrected to the right and rolled into the median, ending up in the westbound lanes of Interstate 94. Passengers 17-year-old Jimmy Schwandt of Moorhead and 18-year-old Jimmy Morton, of Jackson, Mississippi, sustained injuries and survived.

Investigators have sought a semi with a white-box trailer and a green or red tractor suspected of negligent driving and coming “extremely close” to the Dodge pickup.

The theft charge Lindquist faces carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. She was convicted of theft in her 20s, the Fargo Forum reported. She has been with Dalton Fire and Rescue for about 20 years.