A 19-year-old St. Paul man was charged with one count of first-degree aggravated robbery and one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon following a robbery investigation that began in East Bloomington in August.
The suspect is accused of firing a handgun after robbing a 23-year-old Cottage Grove man he was meeting to purchase marijuana from, and was tracked down with the help of the Snapchat conversations they had to arrange the meeting, according to Bloomington Police Cmdr. Eric Kittelson.
The suspect was one of two men who met with the Cottage Grove man on the 1400 block of East 82nd Street shortly before 5 p.m. Aug. 24. The Cottage Grove man said he had sold marijuana to the suspect in the past, and was surprised when the suspect arrived at their meeting point with another male, Kittelson said.
The Cottage Grove man told police that he questioned the suspect about the second man’s presence before both men entered his vehicle. The suspect’s companion pulled out a handgun and allegedly threatened to kill the Cottage Grove man before punching him in the face. The suspect also produced a handgun before the duo fled the scene on foot, Kittelson explained.
Police officers responding to the scene set up a perimeter in the vicinity and brought in a K-9 officer in an attempt to track the perpetrators, but the duo was not located, Kittelson noted.
The suspect remained connected to the Cottage Grove man through Snapchat, and investigators were able to identify the suspect through his Snapchat account and learned he was staying at a St. Paul hotel. The Cottage Grove man identified the suspect through a photo lineup on Aug. 31, and a search warrant was executed at the suspect’s hotel room on Sept. 24, where he was arrested. A handgun was found during the search, according to a criminal complaint.
The suspect was charged Sept. 25 in Hennepin County District Court. If convicted of aggravated robbery, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. If convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, he faces up to seven years in prison and a fine between $4,200 and $14,000. He faces a minimum sentence of three years and one day in prison for each conviction.
Interfering with privacy
A 79-year-old Stillwater man was arrested on suspicion of interfering with a woman’s privacy following an investigation dating back to an event in April at a Bloomington hotel.
The 41-year-old North St. Paul woman was a guest at an April 16 event at the Bloomington DoubleTree hotel and was seated at a table. Another guest at the event passed the woman a note, informing her that the suspect, seated at a nearby table, appeared to be filming her with his cellphone, and seemed to be filming her lower body. She said others at the event appeared to notice his actions, as well, according to Kittelson.
The woman reported that she attempted to speak to the man, but he did not acknowledge her. He did, however, put his phone down. The event included the presentation of scholarships, and there were wealthy and prominent people in attendance, the woman noted, so she did not want to make a scene during the event. She went to the hotel’s management and event organizers to report the incident, and did not return to the event, Kittelson said.
The suspect reportedly left the event at its conclusion and the woman reported the incident to the police the following day, Kittelson noted.
Investigators spoke with others who attended the event. The woman was wearing a skirt at the event, and witnesses indicated that the suspect appeared to be focusing on the woman’s legs. Two attendees provided their own cellphone video of the suspect’s actions, and organizers of the event were able to identify the business that had purchased the seats at the table where the suspect was sitting. A representative of the company helped investigators identify the suspect, and investigators were able to obtain a search warrant for the suspect’s cellphone, according to Kittelson.
When questioned about his actions at the event, the suspect said that he likes to steal the privacy of women, that it is part of an addiction and that he knows it is wrong, Kittelson added.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of interfering with privacy, which historically has been associated with a “peeping Tom,” Kittelson said. The statute has been expanded to cover incidents where a person is secretly observing, photographing or recording a person’s intimate parts or the clothing covering them without consent in a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, he explained.
Temporary getaway
A 38-year-old Edina man was able to get away when a police officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but he was driving a vehicle that was registered to him, and officers arrested him the next day.
The pursuit began when a patrol officer spotted the suspect’s white Mercedes passing other vehicles at a high rate of speed on American Boulevard. The driver was using the westbound lanes to pass vehicles as he drove east at approximately 9:30 p.m. Sept. 24, Kittelson said.
The officer was able to follow the vehicle and note its Florida license plate, but the suspect fled as the officer initiated a traffic stop, reaching an estimated speed of 85 miles per hour as he drove north toward Edina on East Bush Lake Road. The officer lost sight of the vehicle during the pursuit, Kittelson noted.
Officers were able to identify the suspect through the registration of his vehicle, and went looking for him at the Edina address he was associated with. Officers suspected he was hiding inside the residence, and there was no answer at the door, so an alert was issued for the suspect, Kittelson explained.
An officer checking the address during the afternoon of Sept. 25 spotted the suspect exiting his garage. The man attempted to run to his house, but was chased down and arrested. He was booked on suspicion of fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and fleeing a police officer on foot, Kittelson noted.
Assault arrest
A 32-year-old man with no permanent address was arrested on suspicion of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a woman he said he has had a relationship with for approximately one year.
The woman said she was separated from the suspect and that they were both homeless and occasionally sleeping in a stairwell near the Ikea store across from Mall of America. She was walking through Ikea’s parking lot at night when she heard the suspect calling to her. She pretended she did not hear him and went to the stairwell. He allegedly followed her inside and sexually assaulted her, Kittelson said.
The woman reported that there had been several similar incidents, and she reported the assaults on the morning of Sept. 26, saying the latest assault was during the previous night. She said she had been afraid of the suspect, claiming he carries a knife and has a history of domestic assault, Kittelson explained.
A patrol officer located the suspect near Ikea the evening following the woman’s report and arrested him. When speaking with an investigator, the suspect said that the couple had moved from Florida approximately a year ago and claimed any sexual relations between them was consensual, Kittelson noted.
