Dede Evavold was not required to report to jail today, despite Evavold herself publishing documents which claimed she was scheduled to serve 15 days in jail starting on April 19, 2018, and continuing each April 19 until 2023.
Evavold created the confusion last year when she published documents which detailed her scheduled for reporting to jail for the next six years related to her felony convictions 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.
After reviewing court documents which conflicted with Evavold’s claims, court staff at the Dakota County Judicial Center was able to verify that the information posted by Evavold was incorrect and she was not required to report to jail today.
In a bizarre unrelated development, Evavold attended a public committee hearing of the Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week. Evavold was seen on public television sitting and chatting with Michelle MacDonald, who is Grazzini-Rucki’s family court attorney.
Evavold served as MacDonald’s campaign chair and manager during MacDonald’s unsuccessful bid for the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2014.
MacDonald’s law license was “conditionally reinstated” in the last few weeks by the Minnesota Supreme Court after her license was suspended related to her conduct while serving as Grazzini-Rucki’s family court attorney and her legal representation of Joseph Francis D’Costa.
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.
Evavold was arrested on March 18, 2018, at her home in St. Cloud, Minnesota after a warrant was issued for her arrest when she ignored a court order 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 the HRO.
She was later released from jail on March 21, 2018.
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 June 6, 2018, where a determination will be made if Evavold has violated the conditions of her probation.
