St. Croix County Assistant District Attorney charged with threatening 3 judges
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
HUDSON — A St. Croix County assistant district attorney has been charged in connection with threatening three St. Croix County judges.
Bela Alexander Ballo, age 33, made an initial appearance in St. Croix County Circuit April 4.
Ballo is charged with three felony counts of making threats to a judge and three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct with a domestic abuse modifier, possession of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) and possession of drug paraphernalia.
During the initial hearing, the court set bail with a $15,000 signature bond, according to on-line court records.
Ballo apparently no longer lives at the Hammond address on file in the court records. His mother and father were present at the hearing and advised the court of where Ballo would be staying.
Conditions of bail include absolute sobriety, only prescription medications prescribed to Ballo, along with absolutely no contact with a variety of witnesses, including a witness located at a Hammond address, no contact with Judge Scott Needham, Judge Scott Nordstrand and Judge Edward Vlack, no contact with the St. Croix County Courthouse except for scheduled court proceedings, as well as no use or possession of firearms.
As of press time, no additional court hearings had been scheduled.
Telephone call
According to the criminal complaint, on April 3, a St. Croix County deputy was assigned to investigate a report of threats involving three St. Croix County judges.
A witness reported that his co-worker, Bela Ballo, had told the witness during a telephone call that he was upset about decisions the judges had been making concerning cases Ballo had brought before them, the criminal complaint states.
Ballo told the witness that the judges were “making his life hell,” that the judges are “out to get him and to make life difficult for him,” according to the criminal complaint.
The witness said Ballo was angry and that “the vitriol in his voice was concerning.”
Ballo mentioned Judge Nordstrand, Judge Needham and Judge Vlack during the telephone call, and said, “they just need to bleed,” the complaint states.
Ballo told the witness that his poor mental state was because the judges had created “a hostile work environment.”
The defendant was angry because the judges had dismissed cases during jury trials, had made rulings against him, and that he “believed that they were doing this just to mess with him,” according to the criminal complaint.
The witness said the defendant yelled over the telephone repeatedly that “the judges need to bleed,” and that Ballo’s voice got louder each time he said it, “with the last time he was screaming it,” the complaint states.
After the telephone call had ended, the witness reported the threats to law enforcement and said he was not sure if Ballo meant the judges should “bleed” financially or literally, but that he “took it literally based on the defendant’s demeanor,” according to the criminal complaint.
Aggressive driving
About a week earlier, Ballo allegedly had been driving aggressively with his wife and two young children, ages three and five months old, in the vehicle.
Ballo’s wife reported that on March 26, she and their two young children had been in the car while Ballo was driving from the Minneapolis airport to Hudson, according to the criminal complaint.
The defendant’s wife was trying to help him when Ballo yelled, “Shut the f***k up, you’re not allowed to talk the rest of the car ride.”
The wife said Ballo was driving “about 90 mph,” was weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate-94 and that she feared her husband would get into a confrontation with another aggressive driver if there was another aggressive driver out on the road.
After they had reached Hudson and had picked up their dogs, they drove “country-ish roads” home where the speed limit was 55 mph, she said.
Ballo continued “his aggressive driving around 70-80 mph until they returned to their home in the Village of Hammond,” according to the criminal complaint.
Tense
Ballo’s wife reported that the situation “has been tense” between them since they had returned home from vacation on March 26, according to the criminal complaint.
The defendant’s wife said she had walked away from Ballo and had gone into one of their children’s bedrooms but that Ballo followed her, asking the same questions and demanding to know “who she had been talking to.”
The three-year-old child followed her to the bedroom and sat next to her. The defendant’s wife asked Ballo to leave and threatened to call the police, the complaint states.
Ballo said if his wife did call the police, he was not going to leave and that he would wait for the police to arrive.
Ballo walked away, gathered up some clothing, then asked if his wife had called the police. She said she had not but again asked him to “please leave,” according to the criminal complaint.
On his way out, Ballo told the three-year-old, “Bye … your parents don’t love each other, your mom is a nasty b**ch,” according to the criminal complaint.
Ballo’s wife then called the police, and while law enforcement officers were interviewing her, said that after work every day, Ballo used marijuana.
The defendant’s wife showed the sergeant a cabinet where Ballo stored marijuana, and the sergeant found “a green leafy substance that later tested positive for THC, a glass smoking device, and a THC grinder,” according to the criminal complaint.
