Robbers invade home, taser victim in Mpls.

11/27/2007

http://kstp.com/article/stories/S269537.shtml?cat=1

Adding injury to insult. Robbery isn't enough, they need to get tazed, too?

A Minneapolis home invasion turned violent when robbers used an unusual weapon Monday.

Police said the suspects shocked a victim continuously with a taser and then stole thousands of dollars in electronics from a residence on 19th Ave, near the University of Minnesota and Augsburg College campuses.

Robbing them, threatening them for no purpose and leaving. Don't let strangers in your house. Keep your doors locked.

The three suspects corralled the three roommates on the couch and said one of them would be shot. Ten minutes later, the robbers left leaving the three victims unharmed.

Paynesville Home Invasion Follow-up

11/28/2007

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007111280040

The suspect in the Paynesville home invasion from 11/26 is George Francis Walley.

Walley,

... 28, was charged with two counts of first-degree burglary with possession of a dangerous weapon and fleeing police in a motor vehicle.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Stearns County, Walley walked into a Paynesville home at 2 a.m. Monday and approached the homeowners with a small caliber semi-automatic weapon.

Walley struck one homeowner in the chest with the gun and held the occupants against their will.

He eventually left in the residents’ vehicle and was later spotted in Waite Park. An officer tried to stop the vehicle, but it raced away on Minnesota Highway 23 through St. Cloud, reaching speeds of 100 mph. Walley repeatedly ran red lights

The vehicle was eventually stopped in Mille Lacs County where Walley was shot and taken to North Memorial Medical Center.

...

Clothes Stolen By Intruder While Occupants Were Sleeping

November 28,2007

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/?a=317232&z=2

Chilly air caused a 36-year-old Rochester woman to wake up Tuesday morning and discover someone had pried open a window to get inside while she was asleep.

The burglar took underwear from her bedroom and clothes from her children's room, according to police Lt. John Edwards.

That there are such people about is very disturbing. It's a good thing the pervert only took things and didn't do anything other than attack this family's sense of security. Hopefully, this incident will drive home the need to keep the windows and doors locked.

Home invasion leaves family shaken

11/28/2007

http://news.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=317230

Authorities are searching for two men who forced their way into a southeast Rochester home Tuesday night, fought with one occupant and then held his mother at gunpoint, demanding cash.

Two men entered and began fighting with the son, Edwards said. The mother went to see what was going on, and one of the suspects grabbed her in a headlock and pointed a gun at her head, telling the son to quit fighting or she would be killed, police said. The son followed the orders. The mother and son then were led to an office room on the main floor. The son's two friends also were brought to that room.

Important lesson: Be careful, be prepared, be armed when you open your door.

Robbinsdale girl, 11, safe after being kidnapped

11/26/2007

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_7561998

An 11-year-old Robbinsdale girl is safe after being kidnapped Saturday and left inside a vacant house.

A man broke into the girl's home Saturday morning and took her to a vacant house in Brooklyn Center, where he tied her up and left her, KARE-11 said in a report.

I can't think of anything more invasive and terrifying than my kids disappearing from their beds.

Good for her for getting away. Escaping on her own will hopefully help her psychologically more that being kidnapped, bound, and abandoned will hurt her.

Man invades home, commandeers Paynesville couple’s car

November 26. 2007

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071126/NEWS01/111260072/1009

This happened in Paynesville, population 2262.

PAYNESVILLE — A Paynesville couple were not seriously injured early today after a man with a weapon walked into their home and took their car, Paynesville Police Chief Kent Kortlever said.



The man, whose name has not yet been released, then walked into the couple’s unlocked home. The suspect had what the victims believed was a gun, Kortlever said.

Important lesson: Lock your doors!

Good news:

The victims were not tied up or injured....

Better news:

The suspect eventually got away in the homeowner’s vehicle. He was found in Mille Lacs County by a deputy and a state trooper, Kortlever said.

The man was shot twice by police and was taken to a nearby hospital.

St. Cloud Father and Son Fight Fight Off Burglars

November 20, 2007

Apparently, this happened last night. http://wcco.com/crime/father.son.burglary.2.591807.html

St. Cloud police say a father and son decided to fight back after discovering a couple of would-be burglars in their home.

Police say the father and son had returned home last evening when the son heard noises upstairs. The son went to the garage, got his dad and came back in the house only to find one burglar coming downstairs with a TV.

The burglar threw the television at the homeowners before running off. Then a second burglar came downstairs and the fight was on.

...

The article is pretty sketchy about how they fought back, but it appears that they went mano a mano and prevailed. Good for them that the burglars were unarmed or unwilling to use weapons against the homeowners.

Introduction

This is a record of Minnesota home invasions. Consider it a warning, a cry of doomsday, or a call to self-defense, whichever you prefer. We focus on home invasions, because a home invasion, of all crimes that do not have a predicate act of violence, these are the most invasive. A home invasion is a crime attacking people where they are supposed to feel most safe.

This is a new site, started 11/19/2007. The archives are backdated entries to keep the recent cases in chronological order.

Home invasion reported in Richfield

November 19, 2007

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1560135.html

A home invasion in Richfield this morning was not a random occurrence and a man inside the home was "targeted," said Lt Todd Sandell.



Three other people in the house were not hurt. Two who were sleeping upstairs heard the commotion, fled the house and called police.

Sandell said all indications are "that this is not a random invasion." The victim "had something the suspects wanted."

All victims do, whether it's a big screen TV, money, life, or peace of mind.

Elderly man attacked in second home invasion

November 19, 2007

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1561164.html

To Robert Harris the two men who rang his door bell Sunday afternoon didn't look too bad. Looks apparently are deceiving because the men turned out to be crooks.

Harris, 77, said as soon as he opened door of his southeast Minneapolis home, the men 18-to-21 years old pulled a gun, hit him across the head and knocked his glasses off, then rifled through his belongings. They stole a jar of quarters and took $60 from him. And they stayed long enough to use the bathroom.

It's unfortunate that it's not safe to be elderly in Minneapolis this month.

The incident which occurred at 4:30 p.m. on the 100 block of S.E. Bedford Street marked the second time this month that somebody broke into the home of an elderly person who was home alone and attacked them.

Police are not sure if the two men who attacked Harris are the same intruders who broke into the home of a 77-year-old woman in northeast Minneapolis on Nov. 11. In that case, the suspects sprayed the woman with mace. She had just had cataract surgery the week before the attack, police said.

<--snip-->

Harris said he still feels safe in his neighborhood where crime is lower than in other parts of the city. But he knows what he will do the next time somebody unfamiliar comes knocking on his door.

"I have a peek hole that I will use," he said. "I will turn on the light or maybe just ignore it."

Or, get an efficient and effective means of defending yourself.

Teenager arrested after fight turns into home invasion

November 12. 2007

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071112/NEWS01/111110063

Hardly a clear-cut case.

A 19-year-old Annandale man was arrested early today after a fight turned into a home invasion.

St. Cloud police were investigating a report of a fight in the 1200 block of Sixth Avenue South at about 1:38 a.m. Sunday when they were told that three men had gone into a nearby home through an unlocked door.

On the other hand, anybody who is willing to do this is not a nice guy.

A man inside the house was assaulted and at least one of the suspects threatened to cut the small children who were there.

When police went to the house all three of the intruders ran, heading north. One — Tyler James Powell of Annandale — wasn't able to outrun police.

Arrest made in St. Paul rape case

November 10, 2007

http://www.startribune.com/10242/story/1542839.html

A 19-year-old St. Paul man was arrested Saturday night in connection with the home invasion and rape of a 17-year-old girl on St. Paul's East Side last week.

St. Paul police said they arrested the man about 8 p.m. and booked him into the Ramsey County jail on suspicion of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and on an outstanding probation-violation warrant.

So he's got a history of criminal behavior, too?

The man is suspected of forcing his way into the victim's home in the 600 block of Jessamine Avenue on Wednesday and assaulting the girl, who was home alone at the time. She was treated at Regions Hospital and released.

Home-invasion suspect also accused of burglary

11/10/2007

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=314902

Related coverage here.

An investigation into a planned home invasion in rural Stewartville has led to new criminal charges against a former Rochester resident.

Dennis Lee Richardson Jr., 22, who now lists an address in Willmar, Minn., was arraigned Tuesday in Olmsted District Court on the latest charge, one count of third-degree burglary. He is accused of breaking into the TBM Properties at 1003 First Ave. S.E. on April 9 and taking more than $8,600 in cash. Unconditional bail is set at $120,000 and conditional bail at $60,000. He returns to court Nov. 19.

Richardson also faces a string of criminal charges in Winona, accused of aiding others in a violent home invasion in which a man was beaten and duct-taped to a chair. That was on May 16. The charges against Richardson were filed Friday.

Lowry Hill Home Invasion

November 3, 2007

http://mplscrimewatch.blogspot.com/2007/11/home-invasion-burglary-in-lowry-hill.html

On Saturday November 3, around 9:30pm three unknown suspects broke into a home on the 1300 block of Summit Avenue. The suspects entered the residence by removing window screens and entering through an unsecured kitchen window. They confronted and restrained the victim, demanding personal property. The suspects released the victim and left the residence, stealing the victim’s vehicle. The Minneapolis Police Department has added additional patrol coverage in the neighborhood.