Man receives 10 years for fraud, drugs, fleeing
Published 10:10 am Monday, June 6, 2016
A man was sentenced to ten years of supervised probation in three cases on Friday in Mower County court.
Cory Ryan Gunsallus, 35, of Austin will serve ten years of supervised probation.
In a fraud case, he was convicted of felony financial transaction card fraud, for which he received a term of five years supervised probation. If he violates the terms of that probation, he will serve just over a year in prison. The sentence is stayed for five years.
On Sept. 25, 2015, a victim reported his wallet stolen and had $629.75 in unauthorized charges in different locations around Austin and may have written a PIN number on a piece of paper that was in the wallet.
Police later acquired security footage of Gunsallus using the card at different locations.
When confronted by police, Gunsallus said he got the card from a friend known as “Peep,” who, with another man, owed Gunsallus $500 in methamphetamine. The other man allegedly said he owned the card. Gunsallus admitted to using the card at four different locations.
In another case, Gunsallus fled police after they attempted to stop him for an arrest warrant.
He was convicted of felony fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and received three years of supervised probation for this case and will serve just over a year in prison if he violates the terms of his probation. The sentence is stayed for three years.
On Nov. 13, 2015, police were executing an arrest warrant and saw him driving his girlfriend’s 1998 Dodge Ram pickup on 12th Street Southwest. He ran a stop sign when he turned on Sixth Avenue Southwest and police attempted to stop him.
Gunsallus’s speed ranged from 70 to 80 mph during the pursuit. Officers lost sight of the vehicle briefly, but a citizen reported seeing the Dodge abandoned in the 400 block of Fifth Avenue Southwest and Gunsallus run between some houses.
Police found him on the west side of the pavilion in the park and apprehended him. He denied he fled from police and said he was “just out for a walk.”
In the third case, Gunsallus was convicted of felony fifth-degree drug possession. He received 10 years of supervised probation. If he violates those terms of his probation, he will serve one and a half years in prison. The sentence is stayed for 10 years.
On Jan. 30, 2016, Mower County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of a stolen 2008 Ford F-250 truck in Udolpho Township.
They located Gunsallus driving the vehicle near the intersection of 15th Street Southwest and Second Avenue Southwest in Austin. When confronted, Gunsallus said he took the truck because his girlfriend took his phone, which he needed because he was “headed back to Owatonna.”
He said he didn’t ask permission to take the vehicle because he didn’t think anyone was awake at the victim’s house.
Police informed him his driving status was revoked and noticed his eyes were bloodshot and his pupils were dilated and non-reactive to light. He said he last used drugs on Dec. 1, 2015 and admitted to taking several prescription medications.
Deputies learned he ran away from the halfway house he had been living in. Gunsallus consented to a search by a police K-9, but didn’t find any drugs in the vehicle. After he failed multiple field sobriety tests, he was arrested and transported to the Mower County jail.
At the jail, police found 0.78 grams of meth, a loaded syringe, and several used syringes.