Brown County District Court

• A charge of felony theft was filed March 20, 2023 against Trisha Ann Stockton, 34, 109 Wyoming St. E., Redwood Falls. A Zoom hearing was set for 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 11, 2023.

According to court documents, New Ulm Police Officer Andrew Kuester was dispatched to Walmart for a theft Feb. 15, 2023. A Walmart employee said he was watching surveillance video and saw a woman gathering items in her cart when she walked past a register without paying for her items.

A list of about half the items taken totaled $516.73. A photo of the female suspect was put on the New Ulm Police Dept. Facebook social page to get an identity. On Feb. 16, 2023, New Ulm Patrolman Cory Lyons took three phone calls referencing the police dept. Facebook post and identified the woman as Stockton.

New Ulm Police Dept. Investigator Cpl. Tara Martin called a phone number listed on Stockton’s probation file at 12:29 p.m. Feb. 21, 2023 but was unable to leave a message due to voicemail being full. Stockton returned Investigator Martin’s call at 12:33 p.m. and responded to the theft report saying, “I mean I did it. I want to make it right.”

Stockton agreed to come to the Brown County Law Enforcement Center the following day but did not come in or call about her inability to do so. Stockton’s court records showed a Dec. 16, 2018 felony check forgery conviction.

• A felony charge of domestic assault-by strangulation and misdemeanor charge of domestic assault-intentionally inflicts/attempts to inflict bodily harm on another were filed Jan. 20, 2023 against Joseph P. Gorman, 37, 627 S. Broadway, New Ulm. A Zoom hearing was set for 8:30 a.m., April 11, 2023.

According to court documents, law enforcement took a phone call from a woman regarding a domestic situation that occurred Feb. 16, 2023. The woman said she was at home in New Ulm when she got into an argument with Gorman, whom she lives with and has children in common. The woman said after the argument, she grabbed a kitchen knife and began cutting herself to relieve stress.

The woman said Gorman tried to stop her by knocking the knife out of her hand and onto a couch, then put her in a “sleeper hold” by wrapping his arms around her neck and squeezing. Due to her struggling, he threw her onto the ground, got on top of her and held both her arms down.

The woman said she told Gorman to get off her and he put his hand over her mouth. She tried to fight back and scratched one of Gorman’s arms, then he put his knee on her right arm to hold her down, still covering her mouth, she said she couldn’t breathe or speak and Gorman wouldn’t get off her.

She said Gorman then put his hand on her neck and choked her. The woman said she feared for her life and couldn’t breath twice. She said after the altercation, her left temple hurt, one of her arms was numb, she had arm cuts, her whole body was sore and she felt like Gorman was trying to kill her.