Man Allegedly Stole $2,000 Worth of Cigarettes

A St. Paul man faces burglary charges for allegedly stealing more than $2,000 worth of cigarettes from Oakdale’s last fall.

Jamie L. Hunter, 50, allegedly broke into the store on Aug. 27 of last year, stole a box filled with cartons of cigarettes, and then returned 15 minutes later to steal more, according to the Washington County District Court complaint.

Surveillance video showed a man using a crow bar to open the front door of the store, and then entering the store, the complaint says. After that, he grabbed a box from the back room, attempted to open the cash register, and then filled the box full of cigarettes and left the store, the complaint says.

Fifteen to 20 minutes later, surveillance video shows that a vehicle pulled up to the front of the store, and the same man placed more cigarette cartons in a box, the complaint says. At that point, two store employees entered from the back door and saw the man standing with the box, the complaint says.

The man threw the box at one of the employees and ran for the door, according to the complaint. The employee grabbed the black sweatshirt the man was wearing, and it fell to the floor, the complaint says, but the man got away.

Officers got two fingerprints off the cash register, which a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension analysis showed matched Hunter’s fingerprints, the complaint says. DNA from the sweatshirt and a glove left at the scene also matched Hunter's, according to the complaint.

Hunter made his first appearance in court on Aug. 3 and is scheduled for a jury trial in October.

He is charged with second-degree burglary, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines and third-degree burglary, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

Hunter is also charged with burglarizing a liquor store in Forest Lake.