Predatory offender makes court appearance

A predatory offender who had registered as homeless in Red Wing appeared in Goodhue County Court Monday for a bail hearing after failing to check in with the Red Wing Police Department. Joseph Upsher Jr., 56, faces one felony count of failure to register as a predatory offender.

Upsher arrived in Red Wing Nov. 12 after serving a 21-month sentence in Minnesota Correctional Facility-Rush City for felony domestic assault. At that time, he had finished his sentence and was not under supervision. However, because he was homeless, Minnesota statute required that Upsher check in every week in person with the police department to update where he was staying.

According to a warrant the police issued Nov. 29, Upsher told police officers that he would stay in various locations around Red Wing, including a truck in the Wal-Mart parking lot and Perkins restaurant. When officers expressed doubts that he was staying at those locations, Upsher said he would sleep underneath the Highway 61 bridge between Perkins and the Bierstube restaurant.

However, officers checked that location more than a dozen times between Nov. 19 and Nov. 26, and they never located Upsher. In addition, they found no evidence that anyone had been staying in that area.

The department was notified Dec. 10 that Upsher was arrested on their warrant in Houston. He was booked into Goodhue County Jail Dec. 28. He was still being held Jan. 2 in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Upsher’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 18.

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