Oakdale Police Blotter: Generator Stolen from Ice Cream Van

Someone stole a $2,500 generator from a van that sells ice cream parked in an Oakdale driveway on Wednesday, July 27, according to an Oakdale Police Department report.

One or more people cut three steel U-hook locks from a rear-hitch carrier attached to a GMC cutaway van and took the generator from a driveway in the 1700 block of Hallmark Avenue between 11:20 a.m. and 12:40 p.m., the report says. The power supply to the van had been unplugged, but no food was damaged, according to the report.  The damage estimate to repair the locks was $100, according to the report.

The following incidents were also reported to Oakdale police July 27-28:

July 27:

• A 20-year-old Oakdale man reported that his ex-girlfriend has been calling him nonstop for the past three weeks. Police left a voicemail message for the woman asking her to stop calling.
• A complainant reported that a 4-year-old toddler was locked out of a home in the 1300 block of Gentry Avenue and no one was answering the door. A 10- to 12-year-old girl had located the toddler and taken her into a nearby home. Police spoke to the child’s 15-year-old babysitter who said that the toddler had wandered off looking for her mother.
• Police responded to on a report of a shoplifter in custody. A 32-year-old North St. Paul man had tried to leave the store with $19.17 worth of items. Police searched the man as part of his arrest and found a baggie in his pocket with residue that tested positive for methamphetamine. The man was booked at the Washington County Jail.
• A man reported at 10:28 a.m. that he struck a gas line while in the 3900 block of Hadley Avenue servicing fire hydrants. Police assisted in diverting traffic from the area until the line was repaired.

July 28:

• A resident in the 6900 block of 10^th Street reported that between 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27, and 9:30 p.m. the next day someone entered her storage locker in the basement of her apartment building and stole six cardboard boxes of miscellaneous items. It was unknown what was missing at the time of the report. There were no signs of damage to the door, and it is unclear how someone got into the unit.
• A 75-pound cement fawn was stolen from a front yard in the 6700 block of Fifth Street between 10 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, and 10:45 a.m. the next day. The fawn is 2-and-a-half feet high and is attached to a cement stand. It is valued at $100.
• A resident in the 1300 block of Holly Avenue reported seeing a cougar at 3:41 p.m. The animal was gone when police arrived.
• Police arrested at 33-year-old Osceola, WI, man whom a loss prevention officer at Kmart reported left the store with $110 worth of merchandise he hadn’t paid for. The man told police he was taking it for a friend. He was intoxicated on methamphetaine. As police were arresting the man, they found one Percocet and one morphine pill inside his hat. The man started having chest pains while enroute to jail and had to be taken to Regions Hospital.
• A cellular phone charger was stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked in a driveway in the 6400 block of Upper 35^th Street between 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, and 6:45 a.m. the next day.
• A complainant reported that a 40- to 45-pound brownish-grey coyote stalked him while walking his dog on the bicycle path along Hadley Avenue between Fourth and Upper Fifth streets. The incident occurred about two weeks prior to the report. The coyote stayed within 60 feet of him and did not retreat when the man made noise or approached. Police reported the incident to a local Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officer.
• A witness called police to report seeing a man running from a car at with a leopard print purse. Police found that a window had been broken out of a vehicle at the scene and a purse containing items worth $290 was stolen. The report doesn’t state whether police searched for the man. The property damage estimate for the rear driver’s-side window was $200.
• A resident in the 2600 block of Helena Avenue reported finding a sledgehammer in her front yard. It is unknown who owns the sledgehammer.
• Four fraudulent charges totaling $116 were made in Florida from an Oakdale resident's debit card account. The resident did not know how his debit card number was compromised and he canceled the card.
• A $200 iPod was stolen from a locked vehicle parked in the 6400 block of Lower 35^th Street between 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, and 6 a.m. the next day.
• About $60 in cash and change was stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked in a garage in the 1600 block of Hinton Trail between 11 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, and 5:30 a.m. the next day. The service door to the garage was unlocked.
• Two men worked together to steal a $149 T-Mobile cell phone from around 8:16 a.m. and then fled when confronted. The license plate number of the car in which the men fled came back as stolen. Police are trying to identify the men.