Pioneer PINE CITY
THURSDAY, APRIL 18 , 2019
VOL. 134 NO. 16 www.pinecitymn.com $1.00
RUSH CITY INVITE : Dragon track team overcomes cold, runs to victory in Rush City. P10
Root sentenced to 30 years for murder BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
Patrick James Root was sentenced on April 3 to 367 months in prison for the murder of 22-year-old Timothy Hughes in the Pine Terrace Mobile Home Park in Pine City on Aug. 4, 2017. Root pled guilty to second-degree murder on Feb. 22. Though 17 at the time of the shooting, he was charged as an adult, and has spent the last year and a half in Pine County Jail. Victim impact statements were read in court to explain how this crime affected those close to Timothy Hughes.
VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS Shona Hughes read her own statement. “It has been 584 days since Timmy called me mom,” she said. She remembered playing with him and teaching him to dance. She said if she could see her stepson again she knows what she would say to him. “I would tell Tim that ... I always loved him ... that he was a good son,” she said. She said her memories of Timothy were darkened by knowing how he spent his last moments.
“I think of Tim lying in the trailer park bleeding to death,” she said. “I physically feel the fear he was feeling inside. “We will go on remembering who Tim really was,” she added. “We need the person responsible for this to be held away from us. He shot someone he grew up with in the back.” Pine County Attorney Reese Frederickson read victim impact statements from other members of the family, including Robert Hughes, the victim’s father. He said Timothy’s life, “was cut short too soon and very unfairly.
“Tim loved his family and was always there to lend a hand,” Hughes said in his letter. “Now one stupid mistake has changed our lives forever. I hope they can learn a lesson.” PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE Speaking for the prosecution, Frederickson said that Root deserved the maximum sentence. “He shot [the victim] multiple times, and most of those were in the back,” Frederickson said. SEE MURDER, PAGE 14
Crash on Hwy. 23 kills 1 STAFF REPORT EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
JUDY WOLF | THE PIONEER
To the moon and back again The night of April 13 was a special one for dads and daughters at the “I Love You To The Moon And Back” Father/Daughter Dance in the Pine City High School Gymnasium. Hundreds came out to play games, listen to the music and spend a fun and enjoyable evening together. More on Page 14.
A Mora woman was killed and two other drivers injured after a three-car crash on Highway 23 on April 10. According to the Minnesota Highway Patrol, on Wednesday, April 10 at 2:44 p.m. a 2008 Chevrolet Impala driven by David John Hartl, 66, of Mora was on Highway 23 west of Interstate 35 and waiting to take a left turn. In the snow and ice, a 2002 Lexus 300 driven by Joseph Timothy Silker, 32, of Carlton came up quickly behind Hartl, then swerved into the eastbound lane. The Lexus struck another vehicle head-on – a 2010 Chevrolet Impala driven by Margo Renee Hatch, 63, of Mora. The rear of the Impala swung out hitting the 2008 Impala driven by Hartl. Hatch was killed in the crash. Silker was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth with life-threatening injuries. Hartl’s injuries were described as non-life threatening. All drivers were wearing seat belts. Alcohol was not involved in the crash.
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