Police report

Items are not intended to provide a comprehensive picture of crime.

Blaine OCT. 19

Computer crime. A man in the 12700 block of NE. Aberdeen Street told police he had a business fallout with three people during the past month. On Oct. 19, he received a phone call from a man who wanted to engage in a sexual relationship with him after the caller said he conversed with the man on the Internet. The man reported that he has not been able to get into his "Hot or Not" account and believes that the three people he had the fallout with are responsible for putting his phone number on his account, making it seem as though he was soliciting gay sex. Police spoke to the three people who said the man left the business a month ago and they hadn't heard from him. None of the three admitted to hacking into any accounts.

Property damage. Someone in the 2200 block of NE. Quail Creek Parkway reported that a "MacGyver bomb" exploded in their front yard and the same thing happened in the driveway about two weeks ago.

OCT. 20

Property damage. A woman told police that someone spray-painted a fire hydrant in the area of NE. Davenport Street and NE. 121st Avenue. When police arrived, they found a blue spray-painted racial slur on new curbing on E. 121st Avenue. A construction sign, a realty sign, a fire hydrant, a street sign and several mailboxes were also spray-painted. A man in the 12200 block of NE. Davenport Street found his white enclosed trailer parked on the street was spray-painted blue, too. The man believes the color is "Bengal blue" and suspects Blaine High School students.

OCT. 22

Property damage. Someone in the 2200 block of NE. Quail Creek Parkway reported that someone tossed green dye on their garage door and brick siding. The green dye was removed with water, but the person reported similar activities being a constant problem in the area and would like extra patrol.

OCT. 23

Explosion. A man in the 2600 block of NE. Deer Ridge Drive reported that he was knocked out of bed from an explosion from the north and that he saw flames. Police found a 10- by 20-foot fire with exploded gas containers in it. Police said a teenager who lives at the house and others were inside drinking and hid, refusing to answer the door. The fire department responded and put out the fire. Eventually, police met with the suspects and the property owner. The teenager who lives at the house was cited for obstructing the legal process.

OCT. 25

Theft. A man reported that someone stole his gas tank from his back yard in the 100 block of NE. 113th Avenue. The man said the gas tank was for sale on Craigslist.

OCT. 28

Burglary. A man in the 10460 block of NE. Vermillion Circle reported that upon arriving home, he found his lock-box key missing, the front door open 6 inches and the alarm going off. The man said nothing was missing from the house.

OCT. 29

Theft. A woman reported that her DirecTV satellite dish was taken from her deck in the 1180 block of NE. 122nd Lane. The thieves cut the cable and unbolted the dish from the deck.

OCT. 30

Theft. A woman in the 40 block of NE. 114th Lane reported that someone stole her Vicodin prescription pain killer and replaced it with Tylenol.

Fraud. A man in the 10330 block of NE. Filmore Place reported that he received a cashier's check for $7,500 in the mail for payment from someone to purchase his vehicle that was posted on Craigslist. The man said he received an e-mail with instruction to send the money to an account in Florida and out of the country. He thought this was suspicious, so he stopped the transaction. The account on the check was non-existent.

Theft. A woman reported that someone entered her condemned trailer in the 11360 block of NE. 5th Street and stole a charcoal cat painting, value $10.

OCT. 31

Property damage. Sometime overnight, someone ran over a woman's garbage cans in the 200 block of NE. 118th Avenue.

NOV. 1

Counterfeit money. Casey's General Store, 8501 NE. Xylite St., received a fraudulent $50 bill. Police said it appears to be a $5 bill that was washed and reprinted as a $50 bill.

Counterfeit money. Village Bank, 9298 NE. Central Av., received a counterfeit $100 bill in a deposit from the Blaine Youth Hockey Association, which recently collected money from local pull tab booths. Police said it appears the bill was originally a real $5 bill.

Cottage Grove NOV. 2

Fire. Someone reported a pumpkin on fire near S. 70th Street and S. Joliet Avenue. Police were unable to locate the fire.

Falcon Heights OCT. 23

Burglary. A 30-year-old woman left her house in the 1900 block of Sheldon Street for an hour and a half, and when she returned, the house had been burglarized. Police found the service door to the attached garage pried open. The woman reported the loss of a laptop, printer, two flatscreen TVs and a mini grandfather clock.

OCT. 24

Theft. A 50-year-old man in the 1600 block of Snelling Avenue reported that someone smashed a window on his vehicle and stole a laptop, iPod, backpack and three sets of Minnesota Wild season tickets, value $2,940.

Forest Lake OCT. 24

Vandalism. A woman reported that all four of her tires were slashed on her truck, which was parked at Westridge Townhouses, 882 SW. 12th St.

OCT. 26

Burglary. A property in the 200 block of SW. 4th Avenue was burglarized. Two Bostitch nail guns, a siding saw, a table and a stapler were stolen.

Gun shots. Someone reported hearing gun shots in the 20500 block of Georgia Avenue N.

OCT. 27

Theft. A woman's pink Motorola cell phone, value $319, was stolen after she briefly set it down at Player's Beach Club, 55 S. Lake St.

Dumping complaint. Someone reported that a man was dumping buckets of "stuff" at the Forest Lake compost site, located at the corner of NE. 8th Street and 2nd Avenue NE. Police found the man, who was dumping buckets of apples for the deer that gather there.

OCT. 29

Suspicious activity. A woman reported suspicious activity after she was released from the hospital and the cabdriver made inappropriate conversation on the ride to her house on N. Scandia Trail. After she got home, she said she heard noises outside the house and wanted police to check the area. Police were unable to locate anyone.

Hastings NOV. 6

Burglary. A 21-year-old man was arrested for burglary in the 300 block of E. 31st Street. The man used force to gain entry.

Maplewood OCT. 11

Property damage. Someone slashed the tires on two vehicles parked at Golden Star Apartments, 321 Larpenteur Av.

Theft. A DeWalt drill was stolen from a work van at Menards, 2280 Maplewood Drive. The locks on the rear of the van are rusted, so they don't lock.

OCT. 29

Property damage. The east and north side of a house in the 1800 block of Hazelwood Street was spray-painted, and two vehicles parked in the driveway had paint stripper spread over the hoods and backs of the cars.

OCT. 31

Property damage. Picnic tables and a small children's playhouse were spray-painted black and white at Maple Tree Child Care, 1695 Century Av. Vulgar words and five-pointed stars also were spray-painted on a table.

Property damage. Dome lights were torn out of a mini van that was parked in the driveway at a house in the 1700 block of Gervais Avenue. An unidentified knife was found on the floor of the van.

Theft. Someone stole an 8-foot inflatable Frankenstein Halloween decoration from the front yard of a house in the 300 block of E. Viking Drive.

NOV. 2

Theft. Someone reported that a $100 bill disappeared from the person's vehicle in the 1900 block of White Bear Avenue. The owner thinks it "may be an inside job."

Mendota Heights

OCT. 25

Theft. A snowplow blade was stolen from a business in the 1300 block of Mendota Heights Road.

OCT. 28

Burglary. Police responded to a report of a burglary at Caribou Coffee, 720 Main St. The side door to the business was pried open and the safe was drilled open. The store manager confirmed that deposits from the previous day were stolen, including cash and checks. The case was referred to investigations.

Rosemount NOV. 2

Burglary. Cha's Auto Repair, 14760 S. Robert Trail, was burglarized.

NOV. 4

Burglary. A house in the 3500 block of W. 156th Street was burglarized.

St. Anthony

OCT. 22

Theft/property damage. Several vehicles were damaged at St. Anthony Public Works, 3801 Chandler Drive. Property also was stolen from some of the vehicles.

OCT. 25

Theft. An employee at Game Stop, 2726 39th Av., reported that a man asked to see a portable PlayStation. After the employee took the item out of its box, the man grabbed it and fled the store.

OCT. 27

Theft. An employee at Wal-Mart, 3800 Silver Lake Road, reported that someone put a computer in a toy box, paid for the toy, and attempted to leave the store. When confronted by store security, the thief fled after a brief struggle.

Property damage. A 60-year-old man in the 2800 block of 32nd Avenue reported that someone damaged the skylight in his RV, value $500.

Stillwater

OCT. 28

Hit and run. A hit and run accident occurred at Taco Bell, 14529 N. 60th St.

OCT. 30

Found. A parking citation was found in the area of Hwy. 36 and Osgood Avenue.

St. Paul

NOV. 1

Assault. A 5-year-old was assaulted by a 6-year-old on a St. Paul school bus. The child, who was not seriously hurt, continued on to school, police spokesman Tom Walsh said.

NOV. 2

Weapons. Police responding to a possible domestic disturbance in the 900 block of Rice Street arrested a 32-year-old man after it was learned he was a convicted felon in possession of tear gas.

NOV. 3

Attempted suicides. Two adults were pulled from a Chevy Blazer that was left running inside a locked garage in the 1100 block of Maryland Avenue E., police said. A child of one of the would-be victims alerted authorities to the incident, involving alcohol and possibly drugs, about 12:40 p.m., according to police reports. The two people were taken to a hospital.

Aggravated assault. A man waving a machete chased two people around the parking lot of a Payne Avenue SuperAmerica store about 7:20 p.m., and then fled in a gold-colored Mercedes before police arrived, authorities said. No one was injured. Police spokesman Tom Walsh said one of the people being chased took refuge in a station restroom, but is unlikely to say much to police: "There's more to this. There's a certain amount of provocation here," he said. The machete had been in the trunk of the man's Mercedes.

Theft. A woman reported that someone broke out the passenger-side window of her Ford Escape and then stole her purse while she was with her two dogs in an East Side dog park. The incident occurred between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the park at Arlington Avenue and Westminster Street, authorities said.

Aimee Blanchette • 612-673-1712