Charges stem over alleged tampered water meter 

Rij John Koehnen, age 32 of Frazee, has been charged in Becker County District Court with misdemeanor theft of services.

In a statement of probable cause, on or about April 28, 2025 to June 10, 2025 in the city of Frazee, Koehnen obtained the services of another with the intention of receiving those services without making the agreed or reasonably expected payment of money or other consideration.

Frazee Public Works Superintendent Larry Stephenson contacted Scott Luhmann of the Frazee Police Department on June 2, 2025, at approximately 8:46 a.m. 

Stephenson advised he believed the outside water meter at the 602 2nd Street SW residence in the City of Frazee had been tampered with. The defendant, Koehnen, resides at the residence. Stephenson advised Officer Luhman that the previous water meter reading was performed on April 28 and read 251240. The meter reading on May 28 was 248170. 

Public Works noted that the outside meter at the residence appeared to have fresh marks on the bottom of the meter cover leading them to believe that the meter was tampered with. Stephenson further advised that on June 5 he posted a conspicuous notice at the residence. The notice instructed the defendant to contact city hall about getting a new water meter by June 10. Public Works in the meantime continued to perform readings on the water meter. 

On June 2 the reading was 248200. On June 5 the reading was 248210. On June 10 the reading was 248050. 

Public Works noted that between the June 5 and June 10 reading, it appeared that the meter was tampered with again. The defendant failed to comply with the June 5 notice and did not contact city hall about replacing the water meter. 

Stephenson further advised that the water meter was shut off on June 10. The defendant thereafter contacted city hall and made arrangements to have the water meter replaced. When Public Works replaced the meters, they observed that the inside water meter reading was 252085 cubic feet of water. 

Stephenson advised that using the April 28 reading compared to the current reading of the inside water meter, the amount of water used was 845 cubic feet, with a value of $31.99. Stephenson finally advised Officer Luhman that he has not seen an outside water meter go backward before, and that the variance that he has seen between the inside and outside meters is about 50 to 100 cubic feet within the Frazee water system. 

The defendant was previously employed by the City of Audubon in the capacity of Public Works Superintendent and allegedly has experience and knowledge working with public water systems, and has been employed by the City of Frazee and is familiar with the water system and equipment in Frazee. 

A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29, at 1:30 p.m., and a jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 5 at 8:30 a.m.

Koehnen was convicted of felony mail theft in October of 2024 and sentenced to 12 days in the Becker County Jail. He was ordered to pay restitution of $250, a fine of $800 and $85 in court fees. Koehnen was also placed on supervised probation for 3 years.

Koehnen was working for the Frazee Post Office at the time and was allegedly involved in a case of missing gift cards.

According to court records, on Sept. 25, a Becker County deputy spoke to a woman who lives in Otter Tail County, but is served by the Frazee Post Office regarding missing gift cards from her mail. A deputy was able to view security camera footage from All-N-All in Frazee and the Boys and Girls Club Thrift Store in Detroit Lakes showing Koehnen using the gift cards.