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By Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer
Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to reconsider the pretrial release of former state Sen. Justin Eichorn — facing a charge of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor — after Eichorn allegedly attempted to conceal evidence.
Eichorn was arrested on March 17 after arranging to pay for sex with a person he believed to be a 17-year-old girl, but who was actually an undercover Bloomington police officer, according to federal charging documents. He resigned from his Senate seat a few days after his arrest.
At his first court appearance Thursday, a federal judge ordered Eichorn to be released from jail under a long list of conditions. Eichorn was expected to be released to a halfway house on Tuesday.
After Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors say they learned additional information that warrants Eichorn staying in jail until his trial.
According to the federal prosecutors: Eichorn made phone calls from jail to an unnamed woman — referred to as “Individual A” in the court documents — apparently arranging for the woman to pick up a laptop from Eichorn’s St. Paul apartment, where he lived during the legislative session. The woman lives in Eichorn’s hometown of Grand Rapids and is described as a “close associate” — during one phone conversation, Eichorn asked her to pick up a ring from his apartment.
“Apartment stuff is taken care of, just so you know,” the woman told Eichorn on March 20. She told Eichorn she planned to go to the apartment to pick up a laptop the following day.
As FBI agents prepared to search Eichorn’s St. Paul apartment on the morning of March 21, they encountered the woman. She asked to enter the apartment to retrieve a laptop she used for business. The FBI agents declined.
When law enforcement agents entered the apartment, they found a red bag containing $1,000 cash, an SD card, a handgun and ammunition, a laptop and a factory-reset iPhone.
Eichorn told the court he didn’t have any firearms in the St. Paul apartment. Lying about the gun is enough to detain Eichorn until his trial, prosecutors argued.
Eichorn’s alleged attempt to coordinate the removal of a laptop from his apartment, and the potential wiping of one of his iPhones, also warrants detention, according to prosecutors.
“Eichorn’s post-arrest conduct, including his lie to pretrial services concerning his possession of a gun, make clear that he does not intend to be truthful or to respect legal process. Instead, his conduct strongly suggests a willingness — and actual steps taken — to frustrate the ongoing child-sex investigation into his conduct.”
Prosecutors requested a hearing ahead of Eichorn’s scheduled release to a halfway house on Tuesday.
The court filing was first reported by KARE11.
A call to Eichorn’s attorney was not immediately returned.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.
