St. Paul police reported on Thursday that violent crime in their city is committed by less than one percent of the population. The statement was part of an update by the police department that recapped their recent two-day effort to arrest several persons wanted for committing violent crimes. SPPD said that a multi-agency partnership (top photo) resulted in the arrest of 30 wanted persons and recovered multiple firearms along with 14 stolen vehicles.
SPPD said one suspect was arrested for an attempted murder charge for a shooting that occurred in Saint Paul last month. They said the male suspect was found with a stolen firearm that had an extended magazine, and numerous pills containing fentanyl along with other illegal drugs.
Booking and court records show Robert Alexander Reid, 24, was, taken into custody on a warrant last week for second-degree attempted murder for a shooting on July 23 on the 100 block of Lawson Avenue East in St. Paul. At the time of his search warrant arrest on Van Dyke Street in St. Paul, new charges say Reid was also in possession of over 23 grams of pills that sample tested positive for fentanyl, as well as nearly 1200 grams of marijuana (about 2.6 pounds). Police also found over $5,000 in cash as well as a stolen firearm with an extended magazine. As a result, Reid was additionally charged with two felony counts of second- and fifth-degree narcotics. Reid made a first court appearance on the charges on Thursday and remains in custody on $1 million bail on the attempted murder charge.
North St. Paul police reported that on Thursday at about 6:30 p.m., they had discovered the remains of a deceased woman while responding to a fire on the 2200 block of South Avenue East. The woman was subsequently identified in a press release by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as Shanna Renae Daniels, 43, who said she died in a homicide.
DPS said the suspect in the killing, 41-year-old Melvin Bilbro of North St. Paul was arrested shortly after 4 a.m. Friday. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) agents along with investigators from Washington County Sheriff’s Office and North St. Paul Police Department located Bilbro sleeping under a Hwy. 36 overpass on the Gateway State Trail in Washington County. He was taken into custody without incident and was booked into the Ramsey County Jail.
Bilbro was charged on Monday with second-degree murder and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday. Charges say Bilbro was Daniels’ boyfriend, and witnesses observed him in the apartment just prior to and at the time of the fire. Subsequent search warrants were executed in both Daniels’ and Bilbro’s apartments in the same building. In Daniels’ apartment, police recovered a bloody scissors and a bloody folding knife with the tip broken off. In Bilbro’s apartment, police recovered several bloody items including clothing. Daniels’ dog was also discovered locked in Bilbro’s bathroom smelling of smoke and covered in soot.
An autopsy revealed that Daniels had multiple sharp force injuries to her head, neck, and pubis area, as well as perforation to her left eye and a nasal bone fracture. Daniels had no soot in her lungs, and it was determined she died prior to the fire, the charges say.
Court records show that Bilbro is a predatory offender on parole with at least four prior felony convictions, including attempted murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct (involving a child), third-degree assault, and failure to register as a predatory offender. Bilbro was just released from prison on “intensive supervised release” in March of this year. Records show that Bilbro also has an open felony case on domestic assault and threats of violence in Mille Lacs County stemming from a 2021 incident prior to his most recent incarceration.
A man was stabbed in Minneapolis Friday about 6:30 a.m. near North 10th Street and Currie Avenue, according to police dispatch audio. Police later told media that a 39-year-old man was hospitalized with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening in what the victim described as an unprovoked attack.
Police aired over dispatch audio at the time that the suspect was captured on video surveillance and described him as a black male, age 20 to 30, with a small goatee/mustache, wearing black sunglasses, a checkered white/blue flannel shirt, a blue sweatshirt, dark pants, white shoes, and a black Puma backpack. He was observed after the stabbing entering the skyway into Lasalle Plaza.
A St. Louis Park man charged in several felony cases in at least four counties related to a Black Friday smash-and-grab theft spree across the metro last year was taken into custody by St. Louis Park police in Hennepin County last week.
Raymone Jaquil Wright, 23, is one of several adults and juveniles charged following a series of retail thefts committed by an “organized group” on the day after Thanksgiving last year, according to a statement released by Ramsey County Attorney John Choi in January when the individuals were charged in that county. Retailers targeted included Best Buy stores in Maplewood, Burnsville, and Blaine, as well as a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Richfield. The value of items stolen was over $26,000.
Wright, who court records show goes by several aliases, including Ra’Lasia Wright, was believed to be an organizer, based on prior Facebook posts where he boasted about being a “certified booster with a LLC.” In addition to the Ramsey County case, Wright was subsequently charged with felony theft in Anoka, Hennepin and Dakota counties for the Black Friday thefts, and court records show he’s been wanted on those warrants, in some cases, for months.
Wright made his first court appearance in Hennepin County on Friday involving the Richfield case and was granted a public defender. Wright was ordered conditionally released with zero bail required by Judge Nicole A. Engisch. However, Wright remained in custody over the weekend and was transferred to custody in Ramsey County Jail on Monday morning related to the warrant in that county.
A man with a rifle entered the Mall of America in Bloomington on Friday and proceeded to casually walk into an apparel store and demand a bag full of jerseys in an armed robbery attempt. Cartier Troy Alexander, 28, was “tackled” by mall security as he left the business and was taken into custody. Alexander is also suspected in a pawn shop armed robbery in Minneapolis earlier on Friday.
Alexander, who has no apparent criminal history, remained in custody Monday on probable cause charges of aggravated robbery and weapons. No police, security or bystanders were injured in Friday’s Mall of America incident, which came just three weeks after the mall went into lockdown following a shots fired incident on Aug. 4.
The suspected shooter in the Aug. 4 Mall of America incident and his accomplice arrived back in Minnesota on Saturday after being extradited from Chicago, Ill., where they were captured on Aug. 11.
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As of today, the Aug. 4 alleged Mall of America shooter Shamar Lark and accomplice Rashad May have been extradited back to Minnesota from Chicago IL after having fled the state following the shots fired incident at the Nike MOA store.
. pic.twitter.com/CxjDGUHaiC— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) August 28, 2022
Shamar Alon Ramon Lark, 21, and Rashad Jamal May, 23, are expected to make appearances in Hennepin County Court this week. Lark is charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety, and illegal possession of a firearm, all felonies. May is charged with one felony count of aiding an offender. Three others were previously charged with aiding an offender for helping the two evade police and escape on the day of the incident, including two Best Western employees.
Minneapolis police on Friday sent out an email alert about an increase in robberies and carjackings. The alert specified the neighborhoods of Ventura Village and Midtown Phillips and said that suspects have been armed with guns in some of the incidents. Several incidents have involved victims who are exiting or entering their cars which are parked on the street. Police said victims have been approached while sitting in their cars or on the phone in some cases. Most of the robberies have occurred between 4 to 9 p.m., police said. In addition to stealing vehicles from victims, suspects are demanding phones, keys, wallets, and passwords.
Crime Watch Minneapolis recently noted that they’d posted approximately 20 robberies and 11 carjackings in a four-day period earlier this month, most in south Minneapolis. Crime Watch subsequently stated that they’d reported about 50 robberies and 25 carjackings since Aug. 8. City of Minneapolis data for the same two-week time period indicated 96 robberies had occurred between Aug. 8 and Aug. 21 (carjackings are not split out of that figure).
MPD said in their alert they are working to allocate resources proactively to strategic areas, including the use of mobile cameras, one of which they said has been set up at East 28th Street and 13th Avenue South. They also said the Safe Summer Initiative conducts proactive focused enforcement details in areas that are affected by gun violence, but they also urged residents to stay aware of their surroundings to avoid becoming a target.
Brooklyn Center police reported that on Friday they arrested a man while investigating an auto theft in the parking lot of a hotel on the 1600 Block of James Circle North. In the process of detaining the suspect, he struggled, and police felt a firearm in a shoulder bag strapped across the suspect’s chest.
After the suspect was taken into custody, a loaded .45 caliber Springfield 1911 style handgun was recovered. Also inside the suspect’s shoulder bag was over 60 ecstasy pills, almost 8 grams of methamphetamines and a large amount of marijuana.
Police said a search warrant was also conducted on a hotel room belonging to the suspect. Inside the hotel room was a .22LR revolver, nearly 3 grams of PCP, a large amount of marijuana and several hundred rounds of ammunition.
Ultimately, the suspect was arrested on several felony charges, including being prohibited from possessing any firearm/ammunition, and the victim’s vehicle was promptly returned to the rightful owner, police said.
On Monday, Jasper Anthony Williams, 36, was charged with two felony counts involving narcotics, a felony theft charge related to the stolen vehicle, and a gross misdemeanor charge of carrying a pistol without a permit. Williams is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday on the new charges. A check of court records shows that Williams has several open cases on felony and other charges stretching back to 2019, including fourth-degree assault on police, drugs, theft of leased property, fifth-degree assault, obstruction and disorderly conduct.
Downtown Minneapolis police on Saturday located a stabbing victim in front of Dream Girls near 5th and Hennepin Avenue around 2:30 a.m. following a fight, according to dispatch audio. Information about the victim’s condition was not immediately available and no public statement was issued by MPD on the incident.
Crystal police reported that responders were dispatched Sunday just after noon to a house that had exploded on the 5800 block of Perry Avenue North. An adult male was found inside severely burned and was transported to a hospital for treatment. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.
— Crystal MN Police (@CrystalMNPolice) August 29, 2022
Eagan police took a man into custody Sunday night following a 9-hour standoff that started around noon. Police told media that the incident stemmed from a report of a burglary on the 4100 block of Diamond Drive. When police arrived, the male barricaded himself in the residence. The incident elicited a large law enforcement response and neighbors were advised to shelter in place. Police said no one else was home at the time and it’s believed the suspect violated an order for protection.
The suspect hadn’t been officially named at the time of this report, but booking records show Alexander Christopher Hummel, 33, was booked on probable cause charges of first-degree burglary, violation of a restraining order, and fleeing police by means other than a vehicle. The booking record lists an address for Hummel at a nearby address on Bluestone Lane. Hummel made headlines in 2011 when he broke a sprinkler head and flooded a Ramsey County detox facility. Hummel was eventually convicted on a felony count of first-degree damage to property and was sentenced to the five days he’d already spent in jail.
A man was shot in the leg in Minneapolis Sunday night during an attempted carjacking near the Bakken Museum in the West Maka Ska neighborhood (formerly West Calhoun). Police were initially dispatched to two incidents just after 9 p.m.: a report of shots heard near 35th and Zenith Avenue South, and several minutes later for a couple in the same area who said they had been shot at, according to police dispatch audio. After police arrived, both incidents were eventually determined to be related. Police said the shots were fired during an attempted carjacking, and police discovered the male victim was bleeding and had been shot in the shin. Police also aired that the male who was shot had fired back at the suspects with his own gun. It was unknown at the time if the suspects had been shot. Few details were aired about the suspects other than one was described as a shirtless black male. No public statement was released by MPD about this incident.
Abbott Hospital in Minneapolis sustained bullet damage in a gunfire incident in the early overnight hours Monday. Police were dispatched before 3:30 a.m. on a report of shots fired near 800 East 28th Street, according to dispatch audio. Police arriving in the area aired that they found a suspect vehicle unoccupied a few blocks away. The back window was shattered and there was a gun in the vehicle, they aired. On Monday morning, Crime Watch obtained a copy of a security alert reportedly sent to staff by Allina Health confirming the gunfire incident. The alert stated that security had encountered a vehicle near the emergency entrance. Security engaged the driver who they say appeared to be under the influence of a substance and observed a firearm in the vehicle. The alert said shots were fired and the vehicle fled the area. The building sustained bullet damage including a bullet that went through the window of the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute building. The alert said no staff or patients were injured, and the incident is being investigated by MPD.
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) August 29, 2022
Around Minnesota
A sex offender whom authorities described as mentally ill and dangerous went missing in Mankato Thursday afternoon during a “group community outing” from a St. Peter security hospital. Jesse Nikolas Rowland, 31, is on a court-ordered commitment at St. Peter Regional Treatment Center following a conviction on four counts of possessing child porn. Charges in the case say Rowland possessed over 22,000 images of child pornography, some of which depicted children as young as 4 years old.
The Mankato Department of Public Safety said Rowland had been part of a group on a supervised outing to River Hills Mall and had last been seen around 2 p.m.
Authorities reported on Friday morning that Rowland had been located but offered few details on the circumstances of how he went missing from the supervised outing or how and where he was found.
Following the incident, Minnesota Rep. Joe Schomacker, R-Luverne, raised concerns and asked why a state agency is conducting group outings with dangerous sex offenders to locations where children are going to be present.
Schomacker said he sent a letter to the Department of Human Services demanding answers on “this senseless and terrible policy that puts the public at risk.”
Duluth police reported that they performed a felony stop on Thursday night in the 400 block of Canal Park Drive. During the stop, 22-year-old Shylo Michelle Day Ultican stated a gun was under the passenger seat.
Ultican was ultimately arrested and charged with one count of carrying a pistol without a permit, a gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor counts of open bottle and disorderly conduct. Ultican made her first court appearance in St. Louis County Court on Friday and was released from custody with no bail required. Court records show a prior DWI conviction and citations for speeding and drug possession.
The Cannon Falls Police Department reported on Saturday that they took an alleged Twin Cities kidnapping suspect into custody following a pursuit that included the suspect vehicle crashing into a squad car. Officers from CFPD were dispatched to Casey’s General Store about 10:48 a.m. for a female who was reported to have just escaped after being abducted in the Twin Cities. Police located the suspect vehicle and initiated a pursuit. The vehicle drove through the west side of Cannon Falls before crashing into the pursuing squad car; the officer was not injured.
The suspect vehicle continued to flee north on Highway 52. State Patrol used cameras to track the travel of the suspect vehicle until it exited the highway and they lost sight. An alert was issued for the vehicle, and the suspect was subsequently found in Northfield and then spotted southbound on I35. Another pursuit ensued as the vehicle headed into Faribault. Witnesses observed the vehicle and saw the suspect park the car, at which time police took the suspect into custody.
Goodhue County Jail records show Daquairus Nathaniel Black, 25, was booked into custody on probable cause charges of false imprisonment, fleeing police in a motor vehicle, and leaving the scene of an accident. Other court records show Black is wanted on a warrants out of Anoka and Ramsey counties on various charges of DWI and driving after revocation. Court records show Black has numerous citations on driving after revocation as well as convictions on carrying a pistol without a permit, terroristic threats, fleeing police, and theft. Details were not immediately available regarding the alleged kidnapping that set off the series of pursuits.
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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.