Police nab three in armed home invasion

December 31, 2007

http://www.woodburybulletin.com/articles/index.cfm?id=26534§ion=News&freebie_check&CFID=79034052&CFTOKEN=81322570&jsessionid=88308d37871d184c537f

I missed this one last Thursday.

Three suspects believed to be involved in an armed robbery of a Woodbury home were expected to be charged by the Washington County Attorney’s office Monday.

Daylight home invasions make me twitch a bit.

According to sources at the Woodbury Police Department, the crime occurred around 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 27, at a home on the 2100 block of Cypruss Drive, near the Woodlane Place Apartments.

Police received a call around 4 p.m. of a home invasion where two suspects displayed hand guns after gaining forced entry into the home. Police responded and arrested three suspects in two separate incidents following the home invasion.

Another 'not random' home invasion. Will there ever be a random one? Do crooks really drive up and down the street flipping coins to pick a target?

Salo said the home that was targeted was known by the suspects, and that the armed robbery was not a random crime.

Bloomington invasion suspects in custody

12/27/2007

http://www.mnsun.com/articles/2007/12/29/news/bl03robbery.txt

On 12/22 around 11:15pm, two men (one with a gun) broke into the apartment of a family in Bloomington demanding to know where "John" was. The family didn't know of this person. Apparently, the perps entered the wrong house.

...
In addition to the man, a 34-year-old woman, a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy were in the apartment at the time. All were in the living room when the suspects entered.

Ultimately the family's efforts were successful and the assailants fled the apartment, according to police reports. They took no money or other property.
...

This family was lucky that the assailants weren't interested in doing any harm to them.

Law Enforcement acted quickly to detain the fleeing invaders:

Off-duty Officer Joe Spark was working at a nearby hotel when he heard 911 dispatchers describe the home invasion, Herman said. Moments later, Spark spotted a suspicious vehicle and trailed it.

As other squad cars joined in following the vehicle, it pulled into the SuperAmerica station at 7720 Nicollet Ave. S. Three suspects got out and bolted on foot, Herman said.

"We set up perimeters around the area," he said. "Richfield cops and the State Patrol helped."

Officer Mike Vonderhaar and his canine partner, Hugo, found one suspect hiding along railroad tracks near 77th and Pillsbury Avenue, Herman said.

"Then they located the other two hiding under trees near 77th and Pillsbury," Herman said.

Dec 20, 2007

http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/12674657.html

However, police say their biggest concern isn't so much robberies, but home invasions.

Police say there have been at least five home invasions since September.

How did I miss two?

Even though this is a larger number than usual, police are saying that each one of the victims was targeted for a specific reason by the suspect.

"It's significant we had a number of them where it jumps out at me and I do want to clarify again that these are not random events," said Sgt. Bob Shene with the Duluth Police Department.

How wonderfully equivocating. Of course they're not random. "They look rich" eliminates the random factor. Victims are cased, not drawn from a hat.

Police say it is important to be careful where you put a hide–a–key.
Don't put it in a place where it can be easily found.

Write down the serial numbers of all the expensive items in your home.
This will help police find them if they ever get stolen.

And if you are going to be out of town, put automatic timers on your lights and have your neighbors collect your mail.

Arrests in Powerhorn Robberies and Lowry Hill Home Invasion

12/18/2007

http://www.buzz.mn/?q=blog/2234

Previously reported here.

19-year-old Lester Pinex, 23-year-old Carl Banks, and 21-year-old Aaron Windom, all listing home addresses in Gary, IN, have been arrested in connection with a home invasion burglary that took place on the 13xx block of Summit Av in the Lowry Hill neighborhood during the evening of November 3rd, 2007.

Grampre Sentenced to 25 1/2 years for April, 2007 Rape-Invasion in Lakeville

12/14/2007

Lakeville Breezes Newsletter from Dec. 14, 2007

This week, the Honorable Judge Martha Simonett sentenced Chad Joseph Grampre to 306 months (25.5 years) in prison for a sexual assault against an adult female that occurred in early April this year in Lakeville. In the crime, Grampre broke into the residence and sexually assaulted the woman at knifepoint. The sentence given by Judge Simonett was an upward departure under Minnesota sentencing guidelines from 15 years for an individual with Grampre’s criminal history.

It's nice to see stiff sentencing for a violent crime.


However, whenever I see a writer/speaker mention that an attack wasn't random, I seriously question their motives. In this case, it Grampre clearly had opportunity due to proximity to the victim. From the Criminal Complaint filed in this case, it does not appear that there is any additional connection between Grampre and the victim.

The man told A.S.B. he did not know why he had picked her house and that he was not from the area. The male then fled the residence.

In my opinion, having a complete stranger break into your house, rape you, and admit he didn't know why he picked you seems pretty random. Convenient opportunity does not automatically mean not random. I can only conclude that they say it's "not random" to convince the public that they're safe from this type of crime.


I'm not trying to employ scare tactics, but do you know for a fact that a Chad Grampre will never be living or even just visiting across or down the street from you? ... I don't either.

Two people attacked in Mpls. home invasion

12/14/2007

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=489944

Two people are recovering from injuries suffered in a home invasion in north Minneapolis.

Unfortunately, this is where people expect things like this to happen. We should NEVER expect and accept crimes in our neighborhoods.

It happened just after 4 p.m. Thursday on the 2500 lock of West Broadway.

Police say one person was shot. Another person was beaten. Both were hospitalized at North Memorial Medical Center.

More as it develops

Police looking into burglary, home invasion

December 13, 2007

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/NEWS01/112120040/1009

St. Cloud police are investigating a home invasion and burglary reported Wednesday morning.

Police were called at 9:55 a.m. Wednesday to an apartment in the 1400 block of 12th Avenue North. A neighbor found a 37-year-old woman in the hall with duct tape over her mouth, Sgt. Jerry Edblad said.

The woman said three men walked into her unlocked apartment and tied her up with shoe strings, Edblad said. The men struck her in the head with an object and kicked her several times. She was not seriously injured.

Lock your doors!

After 30 minutes, the men left with jewelry and several items from her purse. The woman said she did not know the men, Edblad said. She was able to free herself from the shoe strings and get into the hallway, where a neighbor found her, he said. An infant was home at the time but was not injured.

A woman, home alone with a baby, didn't lock her doors. In this day and age, there is a word for that, but it's not polite. I am not blaming the victim. This crime is the fault of the criminals. There are, however, things that can be done to lessen the likelihood of becoming a victim. Locking your doors takes seconds.

Police investigate home burglary

December 07, 2007

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=55751

Duluth police are investigating the second home invasion crime committed in the city in two days.

Once again, irresponsible reporting includes the address of a victim.

At 3:30 a.m. Friday, a reporting party said that several people came into his Morgan Park residence at [address redacted], tied him, put a gun to his head and stole two cell phones and other items.

Brooklyn Center police seeking 5 masked intruders in home invasion

12/07/2007

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_7660029?nclick_check=1

As many as five armed and masked intruders broke into a Brooklyn Center home Thursday night but fled before officers arrived, police said.

A less-than-one-minute response time is impressive. Good job BCPD.

Officers responded to the home within a minute of the [911] call, but by the time officers arrived, the robbers were gone, police said.

Good news:

No one was hurt.

And the possible circumstances:

Police said they are investigating the relationship between the suspects and victims and that this does not appear to be a random robbery attempt.

Police investigate home burglary

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=55605

Duluth police are investigating a home invasion burglary reported Wednesday morning....

I redacted the address because I think it's terribly irresponsible to publish a victim's private information.

Three men forced their way into the residence that was shared by three college students and one high school student, police said.

Fortunately,

No one was injured....

Yet Another Paynesville Home Invasion Follow-up

12/06/2007

We had a reader anonymously comment that we weren't telling the whole story. He or she seemed pretty irate that we weren't thorough enough. At the time, princewally and I were simply not yet unaware of the whole story. I've finally found the time to follow up and here is the added info the commenter was referring to.

It appears that Walley was on a suicidal rampage:

Meeker County authorities alerted the State Patrol that they had received information at 2:15 a.m. Monday, Nov. 26 that Walley may be suicidal and had made comments of suicide by law enforcement using his Dodge Neon.

Walley had also told a Paynesville couple, whose home he had burglarized, that he wanted someone to kill him or the police to kill him.

Walley assaulted the homeowners and threatened them with what they believed to be a gun, yet he was asking the homeowners if they had any guns in the house so someone could kill him.

After stealing their vehicle and leading police on a high speed chase, they used a PIT maneuver to stop Walley. Resulting in two burning cars. When police demanded that Walley exit the burning vehicle, they say they saw him point what looked like a gun at them, at which point they shot him. Walley then asked them to shoot him again.

Well, it turns he didn't have a gun, but rather a " a tool configured in a way that appeared to be a handgun." But it was apparently convincing enough to the LEOs involved that they shot back at the threat.

Walley admitted that when he exited the vehicle his intention was for police to shoot him. He also admitted that he searched the vehicle for a tool that could be made to look like a weapon, which would require officers to react with force.

How does this relate to the reported home invasion? Well Walley is being charged in with "threatening with a dangerous weapon" and "threatening an individual while inside the home" along with the burglary charges associated with the home invasion. It's not clear that the "threatening with a dangerous weapon" charge is related to the home invasion or just the police-involved shooting, but it's pretty clear that Walley was acting unpredictably. It's easy to monday morning quarter back when we now know that Walley just wanted to die and that he didn't have a gun. But the Paynesville couple was likely still very scared and Walley showed a lack of concern for others' safety by crashing his own vehicle and speeding from police in the stolen vehicle. That he didn't actually have a gun in the end, doesn't negate the fear he created for everyone who was involved.

Robbers hit victims as they enter or exit their garages

December 5, 2007

http://www.startribune.com/local/12163496.html

This isn't exactly a home invasion story, but it's close. It's still hitting people where they are most comfortable. People are still being violated at their homes, if not actually in their homes.

Minneapolis police are warning residents of several north Minneapolis neighborhoods to take precautions after four people were robbed while entering or exiting their garages.

If you see someone hanging around your house at night, drive around the block, go get a cup of coffee, call the police to escort you to your door, but don't pull up next to him and then distract yourself with the packages you just bought. Pay attention to your surroundings, and keep yourself safe.


Hat tip: Minneapolis Crime Watch