Gold Teeth And A Stolen Car

Flashing gold teeth and a handgun, one Tangletown resident is believed to have stolen a car from another person in Tangletown.

Investigators believe Cartez Lamar Cook approached an unnamed person on July 16, on the 4700 block of Blaisdell Avenue South, as that person prepared to drive to his job at the Mall of America. Cook reportedly offered $3,500 for the person's car, an offer the person rejected, according to the criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County. 

Upon returning from work and parking near the same spot, the person told police Cook confronted him with a pistol and yelled at him to give him his keys. According to the complaint, the man complied and Cook sped away in the man's car.

Police say that after checking Cook's residence, on the 4700 block of Nicollet Avenue, officers found the man's gold Chevrolet Impala in Cook's garage, where they say they also found a pistol.

Cook, who police believe took part in another robbery in the area the previous day, was convicted of burglary in October 2007 and, consequently, banned from owning a gun. According to the complaint, Cook admitted to talking to the Tangletown man earlier in the day, but denied stealing his car.

Cook is being held in the Hennepin County Jail on $100,000 bail, having been charged with one count of prohibited possession of a firearm and one count of aggravated robbery in the first degree.