Oakdale Police Blotter: Alleged Cell Phone Swindle Leads to Reported Robbery

After Oakdale police responded to a complaint of a robbery around 11 p.m. March 26, they learned the complainant might not have been completely innocent.

An Oakdale man reported being robbed at knifepoint in the 2200 block of Henna Avenue, according to an Oakdale Police Department report.

The complainant said a man he had connected with on Craigslist and exchanged phones with two days earlier had displayed a knife and taken back his phones, the report says.

While investigating the incident, police learned from the robbery suspect that he had traded two of his cellular phones with the man for a Samsung Galaxy S 4G. He learned shortly after the exchange that the phone was really a Samsung Vibrant made to look like a Samsung Galaxy.

The three suspects involved in the robbery said no knife was present, and they were just trying to get the man’s phones back. 

Following are other incidents that were reported on March 24-29:

March 24:

• An Oakdale resident reported someone fraudulently used her debit card at multiple online locations for purchases totaling $285.
• An Oakdale man reported that between 1:30 and 2:20 p.m. someone took his keys from an unlocked locker in the men’s lockerroom at . He found the keys on the ground next to his vehicle and $180 cash and financial cards were stolen. Another man also reported his keys were stolen from an unlocked locker at the gym around the same time. Nothing was stolen from his car, and his keys were found in a nearby snowbank.
• A St. Paul man reported that between 4 and 9:15 p.m. someone stole his vehicle from the parking lot. The car was locked, and the man still had his keys.

 March 25:

• A resident in the 6800 block of Eighth Street called police to get assistance removing two bats from the home. The bats were gone when police arrived.
• Police responded to where a St. Paul man allegedly concealed $101 worth of merchandise and left the store without attempting to pay. The man was cited and released.
• Someone broke the rear, driver’s side window out of a truck and stole work documents while the truck was parked at between 3:20 and 5:30 p.m.
• A St. Anthony man was cited for allegedly stuffing  $233 worth of items into his pockets and attempting to leave without paying for them.

 March 27:

• A Minneapolis woman reported that she took a $750 loan from an Oakdale woman on Feb. 25 and allowed her to hold the title to her car as collateral until she received her tax return. On March 19, the Oakdale woman towed the complainant’s car, a 2000 Chrysler 300M with an approximate value of $5,000.
• A complainant reported that there was an unconscious man in a parking lot in the 1300 block of Gentry Avenue who had been “huffing.” The complainant directed police to the man’s girlfriend who said he was an Iraqi war veteran struggling with post-traumatic stress syndrome due to five of his fellow soldiers committing suicide in the past two years. The man was fine, but admitted to huffing from a computer spay can.

 March 29:

• A resident in the 300 block of Geneva Avenue reported that someone stole her car from an underground parking garage at her building.  She said she last used the car on March 25, that it was locked, and she only has one set of keys for it.
• An Oakdale resident’s debit card was used to make three fraudulent purchases totaling $96.54.

The above items are taken from the . In all incidents where an arrest occurred, a charge is merely an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. The arrested person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Incidents are listed in the order in which they were reported, not necessarily the order in which they occurred.