UPDATE (4:05 PM, Tuesday, September 4, 2018) – Tomorrow’s court hearing has been canceled. It will be rescheduled after Dede Evavold’s upcoming criminal trial on October 15, 2018, for violations of an HRO granted to protect David Rucki and his family from Evavold’s harassment.
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UPDATE (9:31 AM, Tuesday, September 4, 2018) – Dede Evavold is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow where a determination will be made if she has violated the conditions of her probation. The hearing was originally scheduled for June 6, 2018. The hearing is scheduled for 9 AM at the Dakota County Judicial Center in Hastings, Minnesota.
The post below from March has been update to reflect this change.
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( March 21, 2018) – Dede Evavold walked out of the Dakota County Jail this evening after Judge Kathleen Gearin permitted Evavold to be released from jail to remove the remaining online material about David Rucki, his children, and other members of the Rucki family published by Evavold which violates a Harassment Restraining Order.
Evavold has been in jail since Sunday after being arrested on an outstanding warrant.
Judge Gearin gave Evavold until Monday, March 26, 2018, at 4:30 PM to remove the remaining content or she is ordered to report to jail in Dakota County by 9 AM on March 27.
During today’s court hearing Lisa Elliott, the attorney for the Rucki family, agreed with comments made by Dede Evavold’s husband Darin that most of the content had been removed, but a small amount remains posted.
Darin Evavold brought Dede’s laptop computer to today’s court hearing, as he did for yesterday’s court hearing for his wife.
At the court hearing, Darin worked with Allison Mann, a paralegal from Elliott Law Offices to remove the additional content.
“We just want Ms. Evavold to stop harassing the [Rucki family],” said Elliott during today’s hearing.
Dede Evavold was present in the courtroom and she did not object while Darin worked with Mann to identify content that needed to be removed.
All parties agreed that Darin and Dede Evavold would stay in communication with Elliott’s office over the coming days to ensure Dede is in full compliance with the court’s order before Monday’s deadline.
Over the last two days, Darin Evavold has appeared visibly frustrated in court as he worked to remove the vast amount of online content published by his wife which landed her in jail.
This is why Elliott and Mann assisted Darin Evavold in removing the content, explained Mann.
“I have been monitoring the removal of content from Ms. Evavold’s blog and other social media accounts over the last two weeks,” said Allison Mann.
“At the start of today’s hearing, some of the content remained available online,” said Mann, who added, “Darin Evavold came to court today with his wife’s laptop so that he could delete anything that was left.”
Mann concluded, “our main goal has been and continues to be to stop the harassment of the Rucki family.”
Evavold was convicted in September 2016 of six felonies for her role in the disappearance of Samantha Rucki and her sister Gianna, who were abducted near their home on Lakeville by their mother Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, during a custody and divorce proceeding.
Since her release from jail in January 2017, Evavold has repeatedly ignored the conditions of her probation and court orders by making repeated references to the Rucki family in her use of social media.
Dede Evavold declined to answer questions as she left the Dakota County Jail. But as she walked to her vehicle, both Dede and Darin Evavold threatened legal action because I asked Dede questions as she walked out of the Dakota County Jail.
Court granted restraining order against Evavold
As previously reported by Missing in Minnesota, Evavold has repeatedly violated the explicit terms of her probation and the HRO by continuing to reference the Rucki family in her use of social media.
The court further found that there are “reasonable grounds to believe that [Evavold] has harassed [David Rucki and Samantha Rucki] (or minor children included in the petition)…”
Specifically, the court found that Evavold “made threats” to David Rucki and Samantha Rucki, and that “the harassment has had or is intended to have a substantial adverse effect on [David Rucki and Samantha Rucki’s] safety, security, or privacy.”
Evavold is prohibited from having any “direct or indirect contact” with David Rucki, Samantha and Gianna Rucki, and two other minor Rucki children. Evavold is also prohibited from naming “any member of the Rucki family in any blog posting, social media posting, or internet posting.”
In the last year, Evavold’s blog has posted pictures of the Rucki family, their home in Lakeville, and the address to the home, in violation of the HRO and the conditions of her probation.
Darin Evavold said Dede traveled with her family to Florida instead of reporting to jail
In her order, Judge Gearin gave Evavold until 9 AM, March 9, 2018 to “remove ALL blogs/postings, social media postings, or internet postings” about David Rucki, his children, and other members of the Rucki family which violate a Harassment Restraining Order, or report to jail in Dakota County.
As of 9:00 AM, Evavold had not removed the content, nor had she reported to jail in Dakota County.
After Evavold missed the 9:00 AM deadline detailed in Judge Gearin’s order, the attorney for the Rucki family, Lisa Elliott, filed an Affidavit of Non-Compliance with the court because Evavold did not comply with Judge Gearin’s order.
Elliott also requested that a warrant be immediately issued for Evavold’s arrest for failure to comply with Judge Gearin’s order.
Judge Gearin later signed the order that an arrest warrant be issued for Evavold.
Evavold was arrested on Sunday at her home in St. Cloud.
Darin Evavold said in court today that Dede traveled with her family to Florida for a vacation instead of reporting to jail as ordered by Judge Gearin.
Criminal trial scheduled for Evavold’s harassment of Rucki family
Evavold was charged in September 2017 with three criminal counts of violating the HRO granted by a court in Dakota County in July 2017.
Dede Evavold’s criminal trial for her repeated HRO violations has been scheduled for April 30, 2018.
Evavold was warned by a judge at a court hearing in Dakota County last October that she could face additional criminal charges, including gross misdemeanor and felony charges if she continues to violate the HRO. Evavold violated the HRO just hours after being warned by the judge, and she continues to target and harass the Rucki family.
New probation violations to be filed against Evavold
Last August, Dakota County Community Corrections filed a Probation Violation Report with Dakota County District Court. At a court hearing last November, Assistant Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena requested the hearing be postponed in part to allow Keena to file new probation violations against Evavold.
Judge Karen Asphaug scheduled the next hearing for September 5, 2018, where a determination will be made if Evavold has violated the conditions of her probation.
Allison Mann, a contributing author with Missing in Minnesota is a paralegal with Elliott Law Offices, but Elliott Law Offices is not affiliated with Missing in Minnesota.
