Oakdale Police Blotter: Unexpected Tool Used in Car Break-In

It’s not unheard of for a criminal to break into a vehicle to get a laptop, but to use the laptop to break into the vehicle?

Around midnight March 11, a woman reported that someone damaged the rear window of her vehicle while it was parked in 700 block of Gershwin Avenue by throwing a laptop through it, according to an Oakdale Police Department report.

The incident happened sometime between 11:36 and 11:56 p.m., she said.

The case is damaged, but the laptop still functions, the report says.

Police booked the laptop—a Dell Latitude E6410—as found property.

Nothing was missing from inside the vehicle, and the property damage estimate is $185.

 Following are other incidents that were reported March 1 - 14:

March 1:

• The responded to report of a car completely engulfed in flames in the 3800 block of Granada Way. Some of the siding at the location melted.
• A netbook computer was reported stolen from a classroom at . A juvenile was found to be in possession of the computer and admitted to taking it.

 March 3:

• A resident in the 300 block of Geneva Avenue reported that sometime between Feb. 25 and Feb. 28 someone forced entry into his vacant apartment and stole $100 worth of hand tools.
• An employee at reported that someone had $1,100 worth of repairs done on their vehicle. A worker at the center left a message with the vehicle owner that the repairs were done, and then the suspect removed the vehicle during the night hours without paying for the repairs.
• A 29-year-old Oakdale man who had warrants for criminal vehicular homicide was arrested without incident in the 4000 block of Gershwin Avenue.

 March 4:

• Someone stole a $1,229 electric guitar from between Feb. 28 and March 4, an employee reported.

• An Oakdale resident reported receiving a letter from a collections agency claiming he owes $7,034 for purchases made by a company that bears his last name. It appears that the company is a shell company and that someone is using his name and Social Security number.

• An Oakdale resident reported that an unknown person opened a T-Mobile account in her name in January of 2009 and racked up a $1,016 bill. The woman reported the fraud and had no monetary loss.

 March 5:

• Someone entered an unlocked vehicle parked in the 4800 block of Helena Lane and stole a $200 stereo face.

March 6:

• A $1,000 surveillance camera located outside the back door at was stolen between 3:15 and 3:45 a.m. Video showed two or three people ride up on bikes, stack bread crates up to the camera and then take the camera. 
• The owner of Mid America Heating & AC reported that a vehicle was stolen, and the tires were removed from another vehicle between 8 p.m. March 4 and 9 a.m. March 5. The vehicle had a $6,000 compressor mounted to the flat bed. Two other trailers were also entered causing $280 in property damage.

 March 7:

• A complainant at reported that someone had opened the panels above the front door and cut the wires, possibly in an attempt to gain entry into the building. Estimated damage is $1,000.
• A resident in the 4300 block of Helena Road reported that someone entered his unlocked car while it was parked in the driveway and stole a stereo system, tackle box and CDs with a total value of $300.
• An Oakdale resident reported she accidentally left her wallet at , and later found that someone had stolen it and used her credit cards to make $1,300 worth of purchases from Target stores in Apple Valley and Burnsville as well as multiple gas stations.
• A water heater was reported stolen from a bank-owned home in the 3500 block of Goodwin Avenue.

 March 8:

• Police responded to a report of threats made by five juvenile third-graders at . Four of the students were suspended and officers planned to meet with all of the students and parents regarding the incident.
• Someone reportedly unbolted and removed a passenger seat from a Freightliner semitrailer at Delwin Transfer between 1 p.m. March 3 and 1 p.m. March 8. The replacement estimate is $1,000.
• An iPod Touch was reported stolen from an unlocked gym locker at between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. March 7.

 March 10:

• A $100 briefcase and a $50 canvas bag were reported stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked in the 800 block of Glenbrook Road between 11 p.m. March 9 and 1 p.m. March 10.
• A resident in the 6000 block of 52^nd Street reported that between 5 a.m. and 6:50 p.m. someone pried their way into her locked apartment. The only thing stolen was a one-pound package of frozen hamburger. All other valuables were left untouched.

 March 11:

• A suspect deposited two fraudulent checks into an ATM at in December totaling $9,500. Police are investigating the incident.

• A 65-year-old Oakdale woman reported she applied for a Payday loan on the Internet and since that time has been receiving suspicious phone calls. One call was from Payday telling her that her Social Security number was wrong. She has also been receiving calls from non-English-speaking men telling her they are officers and she will be in trouble if she doesn’t call them back.

• Police used video surveillance footage to find a man who allegedly struck a vehicle in the parking lot and then drove off. Police got the license plate number and then went to the man’s home. The man, a 57-year-old Oakdale resident, admitted to hitting the car and making no attempt to notify the car’s owner in an interview with police.

 March 12:

• Police stopped to assist a stalled vehicle on the shoulder in the 6700 block of 10^th Street. The female passenger told police that her boyfriend was out on foot looking for her “promise ring,” which she had thrown out the window while arguing with him.
• A Dumpster fire was reported at 6:14 p.m. at Ridgecrest Apartments in the 900 block of Greenway Avenue. The Dumpster was engulfed when the fire department arrived. The department extinguished the fire, which damaged the roof above the garages where the Dumpster was sitting. The cause of the fire is unknown and there have been two similar fires within the past several months.

 March 13:

• Police observed a passenger in a vehicle get out in front of a business near the corner of 10^th Street and Geneva Avenue and urinate. Police approached, found the driver of the vehicle to be combative and tested him for alcohol. The passenger, a 26-year-old St. Paul man, was cited for indecent exposure and the driver, a 22-year-old New Brighton man, was arrested for driving under the influence.
• Police received a report of a vehicle without its headlights on driving all over the road on southbound Hadley Avenue at 39^th Street around 6 a.m. and ended up arresting the driver, a 28-year-old St. Paul man, for driving under the influence and driving after revocation.
• Police responded to the 400 block of Geneva Avenue after a man called around 5:30 p.m. saying his wife had locked him out of the house the night before after an argument and wouldn’t let him back in. Police advised the wife the man had legal access to the house.

 March 14:

• Police stopped a car in the 1100 block of Geneva Avenue for a broken taillight and ended up arresting the driver, whom they found had a warrant.

 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.