Continued: 32 homicides reported in metro suburbs in 2008

Freshly home from a New Year's celebration, two young newlyweds were relaxing with another couple at their Robbinsdale home about 2:30 a.m. one year ago when someone knocked at the front door. Homeowner Jamis Marks, a 28-year-old real-estate agent, answered it.

Two men armed with rifles broke in, demanded money and jewelry and then fatally shot Marks when he tried to wrestle a gun from one of them as Heather Marks was being attacked. She made her way to a bedroom closet, where she called 911.

The random crime shocked and alarmed residents of the Minneapolis suburb. Compounding the fear, the case went without an arrest for 10 months before George Cornelius Watkins was charged and later indicted on first-degree murder charges. A second man is awaiting charges. Heather Marks declined to comment for this story.

The case was the first in a year marked by a spate of high-profile homicides and other violent crimes in Twin Cities suburbs. Among them: A 90-year-old woman stabbed to death in her Hopkins apartment, an Anoka woman whose killing was "staged" to look like a motorcycle crash, an Andover man killed and burned in a fire pit over an alleged inheritance dispute, a Mounds View woman slain by her boyfriend, who also killed her mother and sister in their home so he would not leave any witnesses.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman recently called the Marks killing and others "just totally unexplainable."

Authorities say many of the violent cases in 2008 stand out for their shock value, but are quick to point out that they have not seen any statistical evidence of an increase in crime. What suburban prosecutors and police have seen: a steady stream of domestic abuse, drugs and gangs getting pushed into the suburbs.

"It's just like anything with a large city -- it starts in the center and just kind of moves out," said West St. Paul Police Chief Bud Shaver. "Usually it's the wealth moving out, but in this case it's the reverse."

Last year, 32 homicides were reported in the suburbs, up from 26 in 2007. According to statistics, Jamis Marks' killing was an anomaly: Random attacks accounted for only three of the 32. Of last year's other suburban homicides, 17 stemmed from domestic disputes. Others were dispute-turned-killings and hit-and-run cases.

By comparison, Minneapolis reported 39 homicides in 2008; St. Paul 18.

And some of the most shockingly violent crimes of 2008 did not end in death. Last summer, a man was beaten by several teenagers and young men following an altercation at Valleyfair amusement park in Shakopee. Months later, four men and a teenager were accused of luring a developmentally disabled man to the woods in Dakota County, tying him to a tree and torturing him for hours. And in May, a man was beaten and stabbed by intruders to his Burnsville townhouse, who stole his car and personal items.

Gangs are moving outward

West St. Paul, which is in Dakota County, had its first homicide last month when Patricia Ann Burch was stabbed in an apartment.

Police Chief Shaver didn't hesitate to say that first-ring suburban police departments face new challenges when it comes to gangs. They are accountable for a multitude of crimes, including home invasions, shootings and drugs, which spawn related crimes.

Shaver offered a number of reasons for the exodus of crime to the suburbs. Inner-city gang members are so well known by law enforcement and rival gang members that they are under constant pressure. And though they're steadily improving, some suburban departments aren't as savvy about gangs as their inner-city counterparts.

Jim Heimerl, a Minneapolis police lieutenant and member of the Metro Gang Strike Force, said Minneapolis police have nudged crime toward northern suburbs such as Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park and Fridley. He said gang activity often is behind many seemingly random crimes, including the Marks case and the fatal stabbing of Irene Kunze, 90, in her Hopkins apartment.

"Those were gang  members, and there's one thing you gotta be clear on," he said. "Sometimes gang members commit crimes to benefit the gang, but sometimes these guys might just be out doing what they're doing."

That said, Heimerl, said there's no reason for suburban residents to be fearful -- just wary.

"We've moved a lot of them out to the suburbs, and I can guarantee they don't drive back to inner-city neighborhoods to do their business," he said. "It's a changing dynamic in society, and that's the way it's going to go. I don't see any major swing back in the pendulum any time in the near future."

'A spike, not a trend'

Anoka County Attorney Bob Johnson said that his county had seven homicides in 2008, up from the average of five a year. But he does not look at it as a trend.

"I've seen spikes. I've seen it go up and I've seen it come down," he said. "I wouldn't say at this point that I'm persuaded by the violence that we've seen in the county now that this portends a trend, but it does tell me to be alert to what is happening and to be particularly aware."

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom, Johnson and Freeman say that domestic violence and drugs are responsible for the majority of homicides and violent crimes in their jurisdictions. All say that more resources should be dedicated to education focused on preventing domestic violence.

He noted that some recent homicides, including domestic-violence killings, in his county have been more brutal than he has ever seen in his 26 years as chief prosecutor.

"In the length of time I've been doing this, we've seen a lot of aberrant behavior, really unusual, and this year certainly pushed that a little bit," Johnson said. "We saw more of that than I might normally expect, but you just keep hoping that it's not a trend -- that it's truly a spike, and the next year we'll go back to our under five homicides a year. You just keep hoping to go back."

Abby Simons • 612-673-4921