The lawyer for 19-year-old Ashton Larson, one of two young women charged as adults in the case of alleged abuse at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea, is still questioning whether there is probable cause to move his client’s case to trial.

During what was a reopened contested omnibus hearing in Freeborn County District Court on Tuesday, the young woman’s lawyer, Evan Larson, indicated that depending on evidence, he will not pursue the issue of whether his client’s charges should have been filed in juvenile court, as argued in August. He will instead focus on the issue of probable cause.

This comes after earlier this month, Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson amended the charges to include the time frame dating back to Jan. 14, 2008, for the alleged incidents. Ashton Larson’s birthday is Jan. 14, and during 2008, this is when she turned 18.

The amendment counters the juvenile question.

To speak to the probable cause issue, Nelson offered two more pieces of evidence in court on Tuesday, including time records at Good Samaritan Society related to Ashton Larson and others relevant in the case, along with a series of various reports collected by the detective in the case.

The evidence comes in addition to the 10 exhibits already entered to the court: The initial report by an officer with the Albert Lea Police Department, reports of Albert Lea detective Deb Flatness, a DVD of the interview between Ashton Larson, Flatness and Deputy Bob Kindler on May 6, 2008, reports of Kindler, a copy of Ashton Larson’s personnel record from Good Samaritan Society, the abuse and neglect policy of the nursing home, the interview data sheet by Minnesota Department of Health investigator Jolene Bertelsen, a cassette tape of the interview between Bertelsen and Ashton Larson, the public Department of Health report, and a diagram of bedrooms and nursing stations at Good Samaritan Society.

No testimony was given.

Freeborn County District Court Judge Steve Schwab said Evan Larson and Nelson now have until the end of the business day Oct. 26 to submit written memorandums with their arguments regarding this issue.

Then Schwab will take the matter under advisement.

Ashton Larson faces two counts of assault in the fifth degree of a caregiver to a vulnerable adult, one count of criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult, four counts of criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult with sexual contact, two counts of disorderly conduct by a caregiver and one count of mandated reporter failure to report.

Co-defendant Brianna Broitzman, who faces similar charges, is scheduled for trial in April 2010.

Charges in the case came in December after an investigation into the allegations of abuse by local and Minnesota Department of Health officials; however, details of the allegations surfaced August 2008 after the release of the Department of Health’s report.

The report concluded four teenagers were involved in verbal, sexual and emotional abuse of 15 residents at the nursing home in Albert Lea from January through May 2008. The residents suffered from mental degradation conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.