Tidy Burglar Cleans Up After Own Kingfield Break-In

A resident of the 4100 block of Blaisdell Avenue South returned home to find the back door of his house wide open and the kitchen window smashed to pieces on Friday, according to a report filed with officers of the Minneapolis Police Department.

As they did an inventory of their belongings, though, they realized that some paper grocery bags were missing from the floor. As there was very little broken glass on the kitchen floor, police surmised that the culprit had cleaned up the broken glass before fleeing.

As officers and forensic technicians searched the house, they came up with a potential clue to the burglar’s seemingly-courteous actions: red stains on some glass still embedded in the windowsill that appeared to be dried blood.

So far, all that appears missing, though, is a small home stereo that as sitting in the kitchen. Other electronics in the home had not been taken

Sept. 17

An unknown suspect entered a house on the 3400 block of Colfax Avenue South and took 2 laptops and coins from a glass jar while the victim was at work.

A Southwest High School student had their cellphone stolen while they were in class. The phone was recovered later that day and a 15-year old student was cited for the theft.

A caller from the 5600 block of Dupont Avenue South reported their garage had been broken into over the weekend.

A CARAG resident plowed into a parked car on the 4700 block of Xerxes Avenue South. The driver admitted to police that she's been checking her smartphone just before the crash. The impact was so strong, the victim car lurched forwards and came to rest against another parked car on the same block.

A Linden Hills driver awoke to an unusual sight on Monday morning—their new Cadillac Escalade sitting on cinderblocks outside their home. Around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, the driver had parked their car on the 3700 block of West Lake Calhoun Parkway, and gone inside. The next morning at about 7 a.m., the SUV's tires and rims had been removed during the night by unknown perpetrators. The report filed with the Minneapolis Police Department did not note if the crime scene produced any useable evidence.

Sept. 16

A minivan parked on the 4500 block was ransacked by thieves while its owners were at church. The vehicle's owners say they thought they'd locked the doors, but weren't sure as there was no sign of forced entry.

Around 7:45 p.m., a 68-year old Phillips resident walked into the police department's Fifth Precinct station to report that he had just been assaulted on the 5800 block of Blaisdell Avenue South. The report states that he had cuts on his forehead and blood on his shirt, but the man refused medical assistance.

A Kingfield resident loaned a car to her ex-boyfriend's friend on Saturday, and called police after the borrower returned the car on Sunday with its front right windshield broken, and right rear door window shattered, and steering column punched. When the victim called the friend about damage, the man allegedly swore at her.

A resident of the 5300 block of Lyndale Avenue South called police to report that someone had been calling their workplace repeatedly over the last 20 days. The caller allegedly threatened and harassed the Tangletown resident.

Sept. 15

A lawn sign was stolen from the 400 block of Diamond Lake Road between 7:15 a.m. and 8 a.m. The victim suggested whiffle ball players exiting busses in front of his house may have been at fault.

A van parked on the 3200 block of Harriet had its license plate stolen some time in the previous 24 hours.

A room in a house on the 3300 block of Elliot Avenue South was broken into.

The victim of a domestic assault approached police officers patrolling the 3400 block of Nicollet Avenue around 10 am, and said her boyfriend had hit her. After a brief confrontation with officers, the man who the report said “appeared to be very upset,” fled police on foot. The 27-year old Maplewood resident was taken into custody after a short foot chase and booked into the Hennepin County Jail for fleeing a police officer and for suspected domestic assault.

Sept. 14

Some time between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., an unknown suspect tried to break into a house on the 4400 block of Stevens Avenue South.

A rental car parked at the Lake Harriet Bandshell was broken into between 5:45 and 6:30. The victim, a California resident, reported her purse had been stolen from under the rear passenger seat.

Officers responded to a reported domestic assault by strangulation on the 3900 block of Stevens Avenue South around 4 p.m. The suspect was gone when officers arrived, and the victim refused medical care.

A car parked at the corner of 33rd Street West and Irving Avenue South was stolen between 1:30 and 2:30.

Sept. 13

A car parked on the 4400 block of Harriet Avenue South was broken into around 3:30 p.m. Coins and bills were taken.

A car parked on the 3300 block Blaisdell Avenue South was broken into during the day.

A dog bit a pedestrian near the corner of 39th Street West and Pleasant Avenue South. Both the dogs and their owner were gone by the time police arrived. The victim was transported to the hospital to have their injuries looked at.

A car parked behind a house on the 3200 block of Pillsbury Avenue South was broken into overnight.  A second car was also broken into on the 3400 block of Holmes Avenue South the following afternoon.

Sept. 12

An unknown person assaulted a house on the 3100 block of Garfield Avenue South. When its owner awoke in the morning, he found a screen torn off a front porch window. A broom lay broken in half on the porch floor and what appeared to be several grapes from the porch’s vines were smeared on the house’s front door.

A resident of the 3800 block of France Avenue South allegedly grabbed his girlfriend by the neck around 11 a.m., lifted her up, and threw her on the sofa. The suspect then held the victim down by her neck, to the point that the victim felt she was being strangled. When police arrived, the suspect was gone but the victim refused medical attention for her injuries

While a resident of the 5700 block of Harriet Avenue South was at work, an unknown person kicked in the house’s back door and burglarized the house.

A resident of the 6100 block of Nicollet Avenue South reported his girlfriend’s brother threatened him with a knife while he was on the second floor of his building, and the suspect was standing in the parking lot.

A man on the 3300 block of Bryant threatened to kill another man with a pistol.

Burglars stole business checks, a business credit card, and personal checks from East Harriet’s Piccolo restaurant. The suspect has tried to cash at least two checks since the burglary.

Shortly before 8 a.m., police were dispatched to the alley behind the 4200 block of Ewing Avenue South on report of a suspicious car with two people passed out inside it. The driver of the car, which was idling in park, turned out to be the caller’s son. After waking the two individuals, police searched the driver and found a bag of suspected meth and a crack pipe on his person. The car was impounded, and the driver booked into the Hennepin County Jail for narcotics violations.

Sept. 11

A pedestrian on the corner of 35th Street West and Blaisdell Avenue South was struck in the head around 10 p.m. by would-be muggers, but managed to run away before suspects could rob him.

A house on the 5800 block of Blaisdell Avenue South was broken into during the day.

A garage on the 5700 block of 1st Avenue South was broken into during the day, although nothing appeared to have been taken.

A house on the 3200 block of Elliot Avenue South was broken into during the afternoon. The burglar appeared to have gained access through a front window.

A car on the 4900 block of West Minnehaha Parkway was broken into.

A garage on the 5600 block of Nicollet Avenue South was broken into during the afternoon.

A 14-year old was robbed at gunpoint on the 100 block of 48th Street West by two 15-year olds who he said might have been Washburn High School students. Two 15-year olds were later arrested in connection with the incident.

Acting on suspicion that a 12-year old at Anthony Middle School had brought marijuana to school, school staff searched the boy’s locker, person, and backpack, recovering a marijuana bowl and a lighter from his backpack.