On June 29, a Detroit Lakes man was sentenced to prison and probation after being convicted of felony domestic assault. Matthew Robert Webster, 26, was sentenced by District Judge Michelle Lawson on May 15 for an incident that occurred on September 8, 2025.
According to court records, Webster got into an argument with his girlfriend at their residence in Waubun over a family member's birthday party. The woman reported that Webster grabbed her shirt, ripped it, and tried to hit her in the face before pushing her to the ground. She locked herself and another person in the car to escape.
Webster was arrested on September 29, 2025, after being spotted by a Becker County deputy outside a residence in White Earth. He pleaded guilty to felony domestic assault and was sentenced to 18 months in state prison at St. Cloud, with five years stayed. Webster must serve 45 days in jail, pay $1,000 plus court fees, complete a comprehensive assessment, and participate in the Domestic Abuse Batterer's Intervention Program.
In another case, Shawn Robert Tucker, 24, of Prior Lake, was charged with felony domestic assault by strangulation on May 14. A woman reported that she had been choked by her husband during an argument at their residence in Audubon. The woman also alleged prior instances of domestic abuse in early April. Tucker admitted to grabbing the woman's neck and hair during a police interview.
Tucker was initially held with no conditions bond set at $60,000 but has since been released under conditions that include no contact with victims, no drinking or using drugs, and release to personnel from the Teen Challenge chemical dependency program upon availability of a bed.