Suspended Lakeville Principal Stole His Neighbor's Rings: Cops

APPLE VALLEY, MN — Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced that Chris Endicott, 50, of Apple Valley, has been charged with burglary in connection with allegations he broke into the home of a neighbor in 2015 and stole two rings.

Endicott is currently on administrative leave from his job as principal of Century Middle School. He was suspended in January after Apple Valley police began investigating unauthorized computer access they say occurred at his home.

Endicott was charged Feb. 8 with gross misdemeanor stalking in connection with allegations that he was following an Apple Valley police detective who was investigating him. That investigation is unrelated to the burglary charge against him.

Burlgary allgations

On Nov. 1, 2015, homeowners told Apple Valley police that upon returning to their house after being out of town they found a basement window had been broken and pulled open.

They also noted that someone had been in the master bedroom. The homeowners found two safes that had been pulled out into the basement hallway. Both were damaged but only one had been opened. At that time, the homeowners were unable to identify if anything was missing.

Two days later, police were contacted by one of the homeowners who said she was missing a white gold ring with a small diamond and a key ring that had their house keys on it.

On Jan. 12, 2018, Endicott was suspended from his job as principal of a Lakeville middle school. On Feb. 21 a Lakeville school resource officer opened a drawer of a file cabinet in Endicott’s former school office, which he was using at that time, and discovered three watches, a gold ring, an antique fork and knife, a Coon Rapids High School class ring, a key on a Mercedes Benz key ring, and a thumb drive, according to police.

Investigators later met with the homeowner who lived next to Endicott and whose home was burglarized in November of 2015; she identified both the gold ring and the class ring as belonging to her.

Endicott was arrested Feb. 23 by the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office and was transported to the Dakota County jail.

He made his first court appearance Monday. His next court appearance was set for March 8.

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