Southwest Minneapolis is plagued by burglaries, routinely discovered too late for police officers to do much about them. Recently, however, officers chalked up two possible victories in their efforts against these kinds of crimes.
Around 9:00 a.m. on July 6, officers were called to the 3300 block of Nicollet Avenue South on a report of an assault in progress. Details in the police report are sparse, but officers say the assault was actually a burglary in progress. Police found a suspect, a Phillips neighborhood resident, in the dwelling, and arrested him for the apparent burglary on probable cause. He was later released by the Hennepin County Jail after no charges had been brought after 36 hours.
The second incident happened around 4:00 a.m. on July 9, when an alarm company called officers to a house on the 3800 block of Thomas Avenue. On examining the house and its unattached garage, officers found a window and door on the garage, and a side door on the house had been opened. While the suspect had apparently fled before officers arrived, his or her burglary tools were discovered in a backpack dropped next to the house.
You can sit on any stop sign and watch people blow through it. Watch people turn right on red where it is prohibited, even in a school zone. On Sunday, people park where ever they want around Mt. Olivet Church because parking isn't enforced, even in posted "No parking" zones. And if there is a school event at Burroughs school, parking enforcement is non-existent. The crooks know SW is an easy target because there are few patrol cars way SW.