An Eagan massage therapist charged with sexually assaulting three clients at his parlor turned himself in to police Wednesday night.

Johnny Le gave himself up to Eagan police around 9 p.m., Sgt. Rich Evans said Thursday.

Le, of Richfield, was booked into the Dakota County Jail and on Thursday had a first court appearance on the latest charges before Dakota County District Judge Matthew Schmidt. Le’s bail was set at $150,000 or $75,000 with conditions. He remains jailed.

A nationwide warrant for Le’s arrest was issued after his latest case was filed Monday charging him with felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct. The criminal complaint says Le raped a woman on Dec. 20 at his massage studio, located in an office building along Nichols Road, east of Cedar Avenue and south of Cliff Road.

Le was first charged June 11 after a woman reported May 6 that Le touched her vaginal area during a full-body massage two days earlier. He was charged by summons but not booked into custody, court records show.

Charges in the second case, filed Feb. 14, say a woman reported Feb. 11 that Le had put his hand in her underwear toward the side of her vagina and then grabbed her left arm and forced her hand to touch his crotch. She called police shortly after leaving the parlor.

A DNA sample taken from the third victim matched Le’s DNA, prosecutors say.

Le did not have an Eagan massage therapist license, as required, at the time of the last two alleged assaults, the city said Wednesday, adding that he had been issued a license in February 2024, but it expired on June 30.

Le is due back in court for the latest case April 1. A call to his attorney, Andrew Wilson, for comment Thursday was not immediately returned.

— Nick Ferraro

Sun Country flight diverted over security

A Sun Country Airlines flight that left Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Wednesday was diverted to Texas in response to a security concern.

Sun Country Airlines flight 593 was headed to Mazatlán, Mexico, when it was diverted to El Paso, Texas, “out of an abundance of caution in response to a security concern,” the airline said Thursday.

Law enforcement, including the FBI’s El Paso office, responded to the scene late Wednesday afternoon to investigate but found no threat.

“The investigation determined there was no threat to the safety of the passengers, flight crew or the plane,” said FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge John Morales, in a statement on X. “FBI El Paso wants to thank the 156 passengers for your patience as our team conducted interviews to determine the circumstances behind the reported security concern.”

The plane landed without incident and passengers were deplaned safely and given overnight accommodations, Sun Country said in an email.

The passengers were expected to depart El Paso for Mazatlán Thursday afternoon, the airline said.

— Mars King

School board veteran filling vacant seat

Former South Washington County School District board member Louise Hinz is coming back to the board.

The school board last month voted unanimously to appoint Hinz, of Afton, to fill the position vacated by former school board member Pat Driscoll. Driscoll resigned after moving out of the district.

Board members agreed to follow previous procedure and appoint an experienced school board member who had served within the past four years, said Shawn Hogendorf, director of communications and community relations for South Washington County Schools.

Hinz, a longtime teacher in the district, was previously elected to the board in November 2019 and served one term.

Hinz started teaching elementary school in the South Washington County School District in 1996 and later taught math at Woodbury Middle School from 2009 until her retirement in 2018.

Hinz will be sworn in March 27 and will serve until the next general election in November, Hogendorf said.

— Mary Divine

3 missing skiers have Minnesota ties

Three backcountry skiers missing and presumed dead in an Alaskan avalanche all have Minnesota connections.

Alaska State Troopers on Thursday released the identities of the three missing men caught in the Tuesday slide: Dave Linder, 39, of Florida; Charles Eppard, 39, of Montana; and Jeremy Leif, 38, of Minnesota.

Mankato, Minn.-based Subarctic Media, which owns radio stations across Minnesota, said Linder, of Miami, was one of its owners.

Eppard, who went by Charlie, grew up in Mankato, his brother Jon told the Associated Press.

Attempts to reach Leif’s family members were not immediately successful.

Authorities in Alaska said they would attempt Thursday to reach the site of the avalanche. Poor weather prevented Alaska State Troopers, avalanche experts and recovery teams from reaching the slide near Girdwood, about 40 miles south of Anchorage, on Wednesday, troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said. The avalanche site is only accessibly by air.

The avalanche occurred Tuesday afternoon after a helicopter delivered the skiers to a backcountry peak in the Chugach Mountains. Three skiers were caught in the avalanche and estimated to be under more than 30 feet of snow.

— Associated Press

Seventh inmate dies at troubled state prison

Another inmate has died at Wisconsin’s oldest prison, the seventh since 2023 and less than a year after the then-warden and multiple members of his staff were charged with misconduct and felony inmate abuse.

Damien Evans, 23, died Tuesday at the Waupun Correctional Institution, the state Department of Corrections offender website shows. It doesn’t provide any details. A department spokesperson didn’t immediately reply to a Wednesday message seeking comment. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said in an email that his agency is investigating Evans’ death, but that he had no information to share.

Evans was sentenced in 2019 to seven years in prison for armed robbery and an additional two years to be served concurrently for bail jumping, online court records indicate. Both cases were filed in Racine County.

Evans is the seventh Waupun inmate to have died in custody since June 2023.

— Associated Press