Hearing for MN teen in Iowa store clerk killings

Published 2:04 pm Tuesday, January 25, 2011

HUMBOLDT, Iowa — A hearing is set for Feb. 1 on a request by a Minnesota teenager charged with killing two store clerks in Iowa to transfer the cases to juvenile court.

Seventeen-year-old Michael Swanson, of St. Louis Park, Minn., is charged as an adult with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in Kossuth and Humboldt counties. He’s accused of killing a clerk in Algona on Nov. 15, then driving to Humboldt where he’s accused of killing another clerk.

Defense attorney Charles Kenville filed motions to transfer jurisdiction in both cases. The Messenger says Humboldt County Attorney Jennifer Benson says next week’s hearing will be heard in Humboldt.

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Kenville declined to comment, but filed a request that the hearing be closed to the public due to juvenile records and medical history being discussed.