Thief's career on indefinite hold by police

"South Side Robber" still at large

Star Tribune

Last update: March 14, 2008 - 8:55 PM

A man who Minneapolis police call a "career criminal" is off the streets and behind bars.

Eric Benjamin Colon was arrested by police on Wednesday night after he was allegedly caught breaking into a convenience store on the 1800 block of E. Lake Street in south Minneapolis. He was charged Thursday with burglary and auto theft in Hennepin County District Court.

Colon, 38, of Minneapolis, is accused of using bricks to break windows of three businesses on Chicago Avenue last weekend and going inside to steal cash and other items, said Sgt. William Palmer of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Security cameras showed Colon breaking into Latin Essence, Michael's Cafe and Wine Bar and Sovereign Grounds Coffee, police said.

"He is a career criminal," Palmer said. "He has a long history."

Colon's arrest has brought relief to business owners and neighborhood residents, said Joyce Tesarek, president of the South Chicago Business Association.

"That was his business, to break in and grab things," she said. "It's that kind of stuff that makes people feel unsafe. We are not a crime corner. We are happy police acted so quickly."

Palmer said police are still looking for another serial criminal who has held up grocery and convenience stores, as well as robbing banks in the past two months in south Minneapolis, St. Paul and Edina.

That criminal -- dubbed the "South Side Robber" -- is believed to have held up two Wells Fargo Bank branches, a Lunds grocery store in Edina and two SuperAmerica gas stations.

TIM HARLOW

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