BLAINE

DEC. 31

Burglary. Police received a report that a cashier at Walgreens, 600 NE. County Rd. 10, was being robbed at gunpoint. The cashier said a man came up to the cash register, told her to open the drawer and displayed a black handle to what the cashier believed was a gun. The cashier told the man that a manager had to open the drawer. The man then took a candy bar and fled the store southbound on foot through the parking lot. Police set up a perimeter and a Lino Lakes K9 assisted in looking for the man, but the search was unsuccessful.

JAN. 1

Property damage. A man in the 10100 block of NE. Lever Street reported that while he was sleeping, someone damaged a skeleton decoration that was hanging on the exterior of his door, then returned the damaged decoration in a bag.

FALCON HEIGHTS

DEC. 30

Theft. A 38-year-old man in the 1800 block of Larepenteur Avenue reported a window broken out of his vehicle and the loss of the vehicle's stereo, sub-woofer, amplifier, and a tool set in a purple case, total value $1,060. A 31-year-old woman reported the loss of a pair of snowshoes, value $150, that were inside the vehicle.

Hastings

JAN. 4

Theft. Someone removed two garage entry doors from the hinges at two houses in the 1100 block of Woodland Drive. The houses are connected and under construction.

LAUDERDALE

DEC. 27

Property damage. A 50-year-old man in the 1800 block of Eustis Street reported that someone poured water into the gas tank of his new snowmobile. Police received information on two possible suspects.

Maplewood

JAN. 3

Theft. Someone entered an unlocked cleaning service vehicle in the 100 block of Allen Place and stole keys to numerous houses. There is no information on the key rings indicating which homes they belong to. There are no suspects.

JAN. 4

Theft. Around 6 p.m. at Old Country Buffet, 3000 White Bear Av., a man grabbed money from the register after asking the cashier for $1 in change. No weapon was seen or implied, and the man fled the business in an unknown direction.

Auto theft. Two ATVs were stolen from a dealership lot in the 2600 block of Hwy. 61. The ATVs were in their shipping crates and on top of storage containers outside. They were removed from the crates.

JAN. 7

Burglary. While a homeowner was asleep in an upstairs bedroom, someone pried open a basement window, entered the house and stole a necklace, TV and a computer. The burglary occurred in the 2000 block of Edgemont Street.

Oakdale

JAN. 3

Suspicious activity. A 67-year-old woman reported she received four phone calls from a man who requested that she send a Moneygram for $399.99 to a location in Jamaica. In return, he told her she would receive a $5 million package. The woman didn't send the money. The calls came from 1-876-385-4047. Police told the woman not to answer phone calls from that number in the future.

St. Anthony

DEC. 27

Theft. A 46-year-old woman reported that someone broke into her back-yard shed overnight and stole a lawn mower and three bikes.

St. Paul

DEC. 28

Burglary. Two downtown area restaurants reported having liquor stolen during separate burglaries on two successive nights. On Dec. 28, about 4:45 a.m., an alarm sounded at Hunan Garden, 380 Cedar St., and after police arrived, it was discovered that five bottles of alcohol had been stolen. A surveillance tape revealed a possible suspect, police said. Later that evening, or the next morning, Sawatdee, 486 Robert St., was victimized, too, and a bottle of cognac was stolen. Police had no suspects or witnesses.

DEC. 31

Arson. Someone tossed a gasoline bomb at a house in the 400 block of Edmund Avenue, but it did not explode, police said. The case was turned over to fire investigators, but no arrests were made at that time. The incident occurred about 7:20 p.m., according to a police report.

JAN. 2

Assault. A Blaine man who's picketed at Planned Parenthood in the 1900 block of Ford Parkway notified police of an altercation that he'd had with a man shoveling snow at the clinic about a week and a half earlier. On Dec. 22, the victim said, he was picketing outside the clinic when the snow shoveler tossed some snow onto his feet. The picket complained, according to police spokesman Tom Walsh, and the snow shoveler then allegedly threw some snow into the picket's chest. There was no word of injuries.

JAN. 3

Aggravated assault. An intoxicated man had his arm broken with his own crutch during a mid-afternoon fight in the Metro Transit bus shelter at 6th and Minnesota streets. Police spokesman Tom Walsh said the victim argued with the suspect, who grabbed the victim's crutch, which had been propped up against a wall, and struck the victim with it. The suspect then got away.

Theft. Police arrested a 51-year-old man who reportedly had been victimizing metro area Target stores with "short change" schemes -- acts that generally involve the suspect exchanging money with the victim in a confusing manner. The suspect was arrested during a $10 gambit at the Midway area Target, and is believed to have committed 15 similar acts at other area Target stores, police said. Police spokesman Tom Walsh declined to give details of the man's technique: "We don't want to use this as a training opportunity" for future criminals, he said.

JAN. 4

Liquor-law violation. A 14-year-old boy who attends Hazel Park Middle School, 1140 White Bear Av., showed up at a bus stop with an unknown alcoholic beverage, which he shared with a 12-year-old girl before heading to school, police said. "But it didn't sit well," police spokesman Tom Walsh said. The boy got sick, and the girl apparently wasn't feeling well, either, prompting trips to the hospital for both of them.

Weapon possession. Four reputed gang members were arrested after police found a gun in their car after a traffic stop.

Burglary. Doors and locks were damaged, but apparently not a whole lot was taken during an overnight burglary at the offices of Teamsters Local 120, 2635 University Av. W., police spokesman Tom Walsh said. A total of 18 interior offices had been broken into, he said. Although Walsh did not have an inventory of stolen items, he said it did not appear that any computers were missing. The crime also did not appear to be motivated by political or personal differences, he said. "This was property-oriented," he said.

Aimee Blanchette • 612-673-1712