UPDATE: Five Lakeville Teens Arrested for Racist Vandalism

An African-American family in Lakeville has been victimized by racist vandalism and have arrested five juveniles Thursday in connection to the Aug. 18 incident. The juveniles allegedly spray painted the words “white power” on the family’s garage and on the trunk of a vehicle in the driveway.  A slogan of a white supremacist Neo-Nazi gang was also included in the graffiti as well as a racist slur on the fabric of the back seat.

A woman identified only as Tanesha, a single mother of eight, told KARE 11 that she moved her family to Lakeville in May from North Minneapolis to provide a safer environment for her children. The family was met almost immediately with thrown eggs and “white power” being spray painted on a paved trail near the family’s home soon after moving the report says.

Those events led up to the Aug. 18 vandalism spree that shocked and frightened the family. At the urging of their property manager, the family told KARE 11 they felt they had to come forward.

Shortly after the incident, the family noticed a dark-colored mini-van slowly drive by the house shouting racial remarks and gave a description of the van to Lakeville police.

Lakeville Police Chief Thomas Vonhof says the department aggressively pursues hate-related crimes and gave credit to officers for locating the vehicle quickly.

“We had limited information on the vehicle and the officers went out, located the vehicle and we developed it from there,” said Vonhof. “We’re confident we got everyone involved.”

Vonhof says a number of other recent vandalism cases in parks and other public properties may have also been solved with the arrests of the five juveniles.

Hate-related crimes are rare in Lakeville and Vonhof says his department is aggressive in pursuing such cases.

“These kinds of crimes are horrible for the victims,” he said. “But they also impact the community as a whole. We obviously take (these crimes) very seriously and will be prosecuting to the full extent of the law.

The case is being turned over to the Dakota County Attorney’s office for prosecution. Given the dollar value of the damage the youths could be charged with felony-level offenses. Vonhof said the Dakota County Attorney would decide on the specific charges after evaluating the case.

Lakeville Patch will provide updates on this story as more information becomes available.