ANOKA COUNTY, Minn. – WCCO has obtained charging documents related to robberies around the Twin Cities this summer, which provide insight into a burglary crew that officials say was “aimed at places of worship and homes“Across the street from the subway.
Officials say a 27-year-old man and a 37-year-old man were involved in a series of burglaries in the metro area beginning in mid-May until they were taken into custody in July. The newly charged third suspect, a 30-year-old Texas man, was charged with two of those robberies.
Charging documents say the men would enter a home or temple, ransack the interior and steal jewelry and cash. In one case, the trio allegedly stole a gun safe from a home in Coon Rapids. The three were caught on surveillance footage walking out the front door with the gun safe, which contained four guns, Social Security cards and passports.
In another case, the 27-year-old and 37-year-old pried open a deck door and stole $32,070 worth of jewelry from a Maple Grove home, the complaint said.
On July 19, a homeowner in Blaine reported that two people entered her home through the basement door and that a black SUV was parked in her driveway. The police forced entry and saw the 27-year-old and 37-year-old flee through the back door. The third man was arrested at the scene.
Carver County deputies executed a search warrant at a home in Brooklyn Park, where they found clothing matching what two of the suspects wore during a temple burglary. They also found gold jewelry that matched a necklace stolen from a statue in the temple, documents say.
In total, the 27-year-old and 37-year-old are facing 11 burglaries in nine separate incidents in Hennepin, Carver and Anoka counties. The 30-year-old man is suspected of two burglaries. The 27-year-old suspect is currently in custody in Orange County, California, and the 37-year-old is being held in ICE custody in Freeborn County in southern Minnesota, police said. They will both be extradited to Hennepin County.
