In an incident that elicited a “significant” police response in Edina last Thursday, a Minneapolis man with a lengthy arrest and conviction history was arrested inside a stolen vehicle where police also found a handgun.
Danial Michael Levercom, Jr., 27, of Northeast Minneapolis also had several outstanding felony and other warrants from multiple counties at the time of his arrest, including one for first-degree aggravated robbery in Eden Prairie.
Officers from the Edina Police Department responded just after 9 a.m. on Thursday to the Grandview neighborhood on a report of a male who was sleeping or unconscious inside a vehicle at a gas station on the 5200 block of Vernon Avenue South, according to a statement released by police later that morning.
An update from an incident this morning that involved a significant police presence in the Grandview area. pic.twitter.com/yWKtmgywmI
— Edina Police Dept (@EdinaPolice) February 17, 2022
When police approached the vehicle, they confirmed the occupant, eventually identified as Levercom, was asleep. They also observed a handgun in the center console. Levercom was initially uncooperative but was taken into custody without incident within minutes, police said.
The Tahoe occupied by Levercom had incorrect license plates and was found to have been stolen.
The Hennepin County booking record shows that Levercom is being held on several warrants from at least eight counties or jurisdictions including the counties of Anoka, Ramsey, Mille Lacs, Wright and Washington, as well as cases charged by Airport, Eden Prairie, and Richfield police departments.
The warrants include felony and gross misdemeanor charges of first-degree aggravated robbery, receiving stolen property, fleeing police, second- and third-degree burglary, several theft charges, and two misdemeanor counts of domestic assault.
According to the first-degree aggravated robbery charge out of Eden Prairie, on Feb. 14 Levercom went with an accomplice to the residence of an associate on Chestnut Drive in that city. There, they threatened to strike the victim with a baton while stating, “Do you like your kneecaps?” While the accomplice was threatening the victim and forced him onto the couch, Levercom ransacked the apartment and took numerous items including a wallet, a laptop, and the victim’s car keys.
The Tahoe Levercom was inside during the Edina arrest was reported to match the vehicle taken from the victim in the Eden Prairie robbery. Inside of the vehicle, officers recovered the victim’s wallet, debit cards, and laptop.
Levercom was monitored at a medical facility following his arrest in Edina and was booked on Feb. 18 into Hennepin County Jail where he remains on $100,000 bail in the robbery case.
Levercom is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior felony conviction on first-degree burglary of an occupied dwelling, stemming from a 2017 case in Anoka County. Levercom is on probation until 2028 in that case.
Levercom has 18 prior convictions including three other felony convictions: one for check forgery and two for theft. Levercom’s other convictions include theft, drugs, driving after suspension, and other forgery.
All of Levercom’s prior four felony convictions have been stayed, meaning prison time was not executed. In all of the felony cases, Levercom was given credit for time already served and was placed on probation, or, in one case, he was ordered to serve 45 days in local jail.
The charges against Levercom in the new Eden Prairie aggravated robbery case state that prosecutors intend to seek an aggravated departure from the sentencing guidelines due to Levercom’s prior convictions on violent crimes. There is no mention in the complaint of intent to add a charge for illegal possession of a firearm.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
