Lock your doors: Perham burglary reports widespread

August 06, 2008

http://www.perhameb.com/articles/index.cfm?id=9670&section=news

That's three, count 'em, three hot burglaries in one night, apparently by one thug.

A 67-year-old Perham man who fell asleep on his couch woke up in the middle of the night, startled to discover that someone had been in his house.

and

After responding to the first burglary call, at a home in northwest Perham, Christopherson noticed tracks in the grass behind the house and followed them to the back door of a neighboring home.

Christopherson knocked on the door, and a man answered, saying that someone was in his house about a half hour ago. In the house at the time of the intrusion were the man, his wife, and their daughter.

and

While investigating this second burglary, a call came in about yet another home intrusion—this time in northeast Perham. As with the previous incident, the homeowner reported waking up and hearing someone in his house.

The homeowner said that he took out his 9 mm and drew down on the suspect who was in his home. The man then demanded that the suspect get out of his house, and the suspect ran away.

That's the best way to confront a home invader. Be prepared to defend yourself, if necessary.

Possibly two more, but the article doesn't state that anyone was home.

The other two burglaries reported both involved purses taken from inside the kitchen area of homes. In one case, the suspect entered the home through an unlocked patio door. In the other burglary, entrance was gained through an unlocked back door.

MPD Pct 5: Man arrested after entering residential home

8/4/2008

Via Minneapolis Crime Alerts:

On the 1000 block of Mount Curve Ave this morning at 3:44 am, a man entered a resident’s home and spent time inside without permission while the victims were asleep. There was no forced entry and no reported loss at this time. The victim confronted the suspect and called 911, at which point the suspect left. The victims were unharmed.

An arrest was made immediately by officers who were patrolling the neighborhood. The man, Terrence Anthony Berglund (date of birth: 4/21/1967), was apprehended and positively ID’d by the victim as the man who had entered their home. Terrence Berglund was arrested for PC burglary of dwelling and booked in Hennepin County Jail.

The victim was able to give a unique description of the suspect, which helped responding officers quickly locate the offender.

What You Can Do:

• Lock all windows and doors, even when you are home or asleep
• Pin windows that you want to have open; it’s recommended to secure them so they can’t open higher than 6”. See information for pinning windows under Home Security Information at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crime-prevention/ Note that you can also get brass sash stops at local hardware stores.
• Call 911 on suspicious activity
• Try to get a good description of suspects and vehicles. Some helpful hints are located here: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crime-prevention/docs/Descsusp.pdf

Daytime Hot Burglary in Bernadotte Township Ends Peacfully

August 1st, 2008

http://keyc.tv/article/view/146560

The Nicollet County Sheriff's Department is investigating a home invasion in Bernadotte Township. Authorities say it happened Friday afternoon around 2:40 P.M. at 501st ave in Rural Nicollet. The suspect entered the home asked for money and then left angry when he was told there wasn't any in the home.

Good news for the home owner that the perp wasn't very dedicated.

Two Shots Hit Invaded Apartment Dweller

August 4th, 2008

http://news.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=354936

In what's being called a home invasion, a 17-year old boy was shot twice when he chased intruders from his sister's apartment early Sunday morning.

The 17-year-old told police he had been sleeping in his sister's apartment when his sister awoke him because some people -- from one to three -- were ransacking the residence, the spokesman said. They apparently were not taking belongings from the residence, Muyres said.

The boy chased the intruders who had left the apartment. The shooting occurred in the parking lot of the complex. Muyres said police had another report from a witness of two people picking up shell casings.

Take note that the boy was shot twice and witnesses claim to have heard two "pops." i.e. the perps hit him with both shots. A lot of people think bad guys don't know how to shoot. Don't count on it.

It's not clear what really happened or why, but the article does say the shooting occurred in the parking lot. If this is the case, then the 17-year old was chasing them out of the apartment (or someone's story isn't true). Regardless, it's a good reminder that if the bad guys are running away, you should probably let them go. Chasing them, can often create more problems.

We'll keep watching this story. It sounds like either the apartment complex is just in a bad place (possibly unrelated fighting in the parking lot, loiterers fleeing when police arrive) or we're missing a lot of pertinent details

Four adults, one teen charged in connection with home invasion

7/25/2008

http://www.leroyindependent.com/main.asp?SectionID=7&SubSectionID=65&ArticleID=1402&TM=25609.28

Four Spring Valley area adults and one teenager are facing felony charges for being part of a nine-person group that allegedly broke into a LeRoy home in June and assaulted several individuals.

Hopefully, she's making his life miserable.

The case for the teenager is designated as an extended juvenile jurisdiction: if he's found guilty, he could face an adult prison sentence that would be stayed until he reaches 21.

That's good news. Ducking an adult sentence for an adult crime by being a few weeks too young would be an injustice.

The victims were four people who live at the house and two visitors, who said they were assaulted when a group of nine people kicked in the front door and entered the home.

What do you do when nine people kick down your door?

Reinforce your front door, and keep some reloads handy.

St. Paul man charged for murder of 90-year-old Hopkins woman

July 18, 2008

http://www.mnsun.com/articles/2008/07/21/breaking_news/2ho24homicide.txt

July 18 - Charges were filed today against Corey Posley-Wells, 27, of St. Paul for the July 7 stabbing murder of Irene Kunze, 90, of Hopkins.

Hopkins Police, with assistance from St. Paul Police, arrested Posley-Wells July 16 in St. Paul without incident. He was charged today with two-counts of first-degree murder.

I originally passed on posting this because the initial reports didn't look like a home invasion. I was wrong.

 He followed her to her apartment, followed her in and then knocked her to the floor in an attempt to rob her. He then took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Kunze and cut her throat. Afterwards, stole a small amount of money from Kunze's billfold and looked in various drawers for money or valuables.

Entering and exiting your home are two of the times you are most vulnerable. Take car of yourselves.

Man knocks out dad, kidnaps teenage girl in Minneapolis and flees

July 10, 2008

http://www.startribune.com/local/24333304.html?location_refer=Homepage:highlightModules:2

A teenage girl was abducted today from her northeast Minneapolis home after the suspect punched and knocked out the teen's father, police said.

Police are looking for Tony Montez McGee, 19, who was the subject of a restraining order taken out on behalf of the victim, Alison Leigh Traefald.

Paper Armor is not a defense. Restraining orders are part of a paper trail to be used when the a thug's violent actions escalate.