Arrest made in '03 metro shooting, carjacking, armored car heist

Courtesy Kare-11

Julie Bever, shooting victim.

The suspect was picked up this morning and faces charges on a string of crimes that began with an attack on a 42-year-old woman in Lake Elmo.

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: October 8, 2008 - 2:18 PM

An arrest has been made in a metro-area shooting, carjacking and armored-car robbery more than five years ago, authorities said this morning.

The suspect is a 31-year-old man from Polk County, Wis., the Washington County Sheriff's Office said.

Jail records show that the man was arrested late Tuesday afternoon at an apartment in Dresser, Wis.

In May 2003, a man shot Julie Bever of Lake Elmo several times while she was waiting at a stoplight at 15th Street and Inwood Avenue in Lake Elmo, then he stole a van from a passerby who stopped to help her. Bever, who was 42 at the time, survived.

The next morning, authorities say, the suspect robbed an armored car at a bank in Hudson, Wis.

After the armored-car robbery, authorities believe that the suspect set the stolen van on fire in woods in Hudson and stole a car from a nearby dealership.

Police searched for the suspect in more than 100 acres in and around a Hudson cemetery. At the time, they believed he had three guns with him.

Because of the violent nature of the crimes, as well as the fact that they occurred in two states prompted the FBI to put up a $50,000 reward for information that would help solve the case.

The armored vehicle was owned by American Security Corp. of St. Paul. The previous armored-vehicle robbery in the Twin Cities was the 1998 holdup of a Brink's truck and killing of a guard in Bloomington.

A news conference is scheduled for this afternoon, when Washington County Sheriff William Hutton and Hudson Police Chief Marty Jensen are expected to provide details on the arrest.

--Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482