Three Texas men charged in string of west metro business burglaries

According to the charges, the suspects burglarized four fast food restaurants in the cities of Plymouth and Minnetonka in the early morning hours of March 22.

Jamaill Daray Gibbs and Trevion Dewayne Green/ Hennepin County Jail

Two men from Houston, Texas, have been arrested and are in custody in relation to a string of west metro fast food business burglaries last week, and a third man is still wanted in connection to the incidents.

Jamaill Daray Gibbs, 30, and Trevion Dewayne Green, 27, were arrested last Tuesday afternoon at Mall of America. A third suspect, Thristian Davonte Duplechin, 28, is not in custody.

According to the charges, the suspects burglarized four fast food restaurants in the cities of Plymouth and Minnetonka in the early morning hours of March 22.

Police in Minnetonka were dispatched to a burglary at Wendy’s, 12950 Wayzata Boulevard. Shortly thereafter they responded to another burglary at Taco Bell, 12320 Wayzata Boulevard. In both cases, the suspects made entry by smashing through the drive-thru windows at each location. Tools or grinders were used to access and take money from the safes.

Video surveillance from Taco Bell showed two black males enter through the shattered window. The suspects, wearing gloves and masks, were seen using bright green grinder tools to gain access to the money inside the safe, the charges say.

Surveillance image from Minnetonka Taco Bell, provided to Crime Watch Minneapolis

After the burglaries had been dispatched, the Golden Valley Police Department notified Minnetonka officers about a traffic stop that they had made just after 2:30 a.m. Golden Valley police had stopped a white Jeep Grand Cherokee bearing Texas license plates for driving without headlights. A Golden Valley officer observed a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana in plain view.

The vehicle was searched, and the three occupants were identified as Gibbs, Green and the third suspect, Duplechin, who it was later discovered had given police the false first name of his brother. Through later communication with Duplechin’s Texas probation officer, police learned his true identity.

Inside the vehicle officers located a large amount of loose bills in the center console as well as gloves and a backpack in the backseat where two of the occupants were sitting. Inside the backpack were two bright green Ryobi grinders along with grinding wheels.

The men were ultimately released from the traffic stop just after 3 a.m. because at that time Golden Valley police had not been aware of the burglaries.

Meanwhile, Minnetonka police learned that Plymouth police had been dispatched to burglaries at a Taco Bell and Wendy’s in their city, both of which had also been accessed through the drive-thru windows.

Police compared video surveillance from the Wendy’s locations in Minnetonka and Plymouth. Both locations showed the same suspects. Minnetonka police also obtained video surveillance from Taco Bell which showed a very similar chain of events.

Traffic camera surveillance was also obtained by police from MNDOT, which showed a white Jeep coming and going in the area at the time of the Minnetonka burglaries. Video surveillance also showed a white Jeep in the area of the Plymouth Wendy’s and Taco Bell shortly after being released from the traffic stop by Golden Valley police. Police noted that there was very little traffic in the area because the burglaries took place in the early morning hours.

The complaint states that through law enforcement databases, the white Jeep Grand Cherokee with Texas license plates was eventually located in the parking ramp of Mall of America. Mall security advised officers that two black males left the vehicle parked in the ramp. The two males were later apprehended when they returned to the vehicle and were identified as Gibbs and Green. Duplechin was not present.

Detectives learned through a search warrant investigation of Gibbs’ phone that a hotel room in Delano was rented in Gibbs’ name. Another search warrant was obtained, and a search was executed for Duplechin, but he was not there.

Detectives located the backpack containing the two Ryobi grinding tools, grinding wheels, gloves, and shoes that matched the ones that the suspects wore during the burglaries.

The defendants are each charged with two counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of third-degree burglary in both the Minnetonka and Plymouth cases, so each is facing a total of eight felony charges in the cases.

Gibbs and Green each made their initial court appearances in Hennepin County on Friday and remain in custody on $60,000 bail at the time of this writing. They are each scheduled to make their next court appearances in the third week of April.

The three are also suspected of burglarizing a Buffalo Taco Bell, according to court documents, and Sergeant Jason Tait with the Minnetonka Police Department told FOX 9 that similar burglaries in the Fargo area are being investigated as possibly connected to the suspects.

– – –

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.