East metro police blotter

Blaine

APRIL 19

Burglary: Someone removed $982 and a bracelet from a jewelry box in a spare bedroom of a house in the 100 block of 93rd Avenue NE. It appeared the thieves knew what they were looking for.

APRIL 25

Theft: A man reported that someone stole half of his pile of sandstone, which he had left in the 12200 block of NE. Aberdeen Street.

Theft: Police were called to the 10800 block of NE. Stutz Street on a complaint of a loud party where girls were climbing in and out of windows. Upon arrival, officers observed a large party and loud music. Police spoke to a woman who is renting the property, and she said she was allowing her son to have a party. Officers observed several people drinking, and upon entering the son's room, police observed several street signs hanging on his walls. The son was instructed to remove the signs, which he did. Officers confirmed that everyone at the party was an adult. Police advised the son he would be charged with possession of stolen property for the signs.

Centerville

APRIL 28

Theft: A portable toilet was stolen from the back of a truck in the 1900 block of Eagle Trail.

Columbus Township

APRIL 25-May 2

Theft: License plates were stolen from a vehicle in the 14600 block of W. Freeway Drive NE.

Theft: Storm drain grates were taken from the road in the 22800 block of NE. Type Creek Drive.

Maplewood

APRIL 30

Burglary: Someone kicked in a door on a house in the 2000 block of Hazelwood Street and stole camera equipment. A garage door opener was taken and was used to open the garage, where several power tools were stolen.

Burglary: A house in the 700 block of N. McKnight Road was burglarized during the day. An unlocked basement window was used to gain entry. Coins and a video game console were stolen.

MAY 1

Property damage: A man in the 100 block of Roselawn Avenue E. reported "some guy has been throwing rocks in the yard," knocking on his front door between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m. every morning for the past two-and-a-half years, and now has cut down the man's 10-inch tree sapling. The man said he has never seen the guy, but would like police to assist him in catching the guy.

MAY 3

Burglary: A resident in the 1400 block of Cope Avenue discovered that a garage window was broken out and that the overhead garage door was open. It was unknown at the time if anything was missing.

Burglary: A window was broken on a garage in the 1400 block of Cope Avenue. A gas can and gas were taken.

Theft: A 20-foot trailer was stolen from a driveway in the 2600 block of Mayer Lane.

Theft. A 99-horsepower boat motor was stolen from the 1700 block of Clarence Street. The motor had been chained and padlocked to a fence.

St. Paul

APRIL 26

Intent to injure a police dog: During an attempt to make an arrest on a criminal-sexual-conduct warrant, officers found the suspect hiding in the basement closet of a home in the 100 block of Wheelock Parkway, and sent in a police dog to get him, police said. The suspect and dog "went at it," police spokesman Peter Panos said. "He was punching the dog. Kicking the dog. Actually holding onto the dog." After officers broke up the fracas, the man was arrested and taken to Regions Hospital for treatment of cuts, bruises and dog-bite wounds. Chase, the dog, had blood on him, Panos said, but it apparently was the suspect's blood.

APRIL 27

Indecent exposure: Two men were arrested -- one after running with his pants off -- when officers hit a boat-launch parking lot as part of an investigation into illegal sexual behavior there, police said. Police spokesman Peter Panos said that it appeared that the two men drove to the lot at Joy Avenue and Water Street separately, and that one of the men exited one vehicle and got into the other. When police arrived, he said, one ran and the other was found fully exposed in the vehicle. The incident occurred about 11:15 p.m.

APRIL 28

Robbery: Two people driving in the North End neighborhood narrowly avoided having their vehicle stolen -- with children inside -- during an attempted carjacking at Jackson Street and Wheelock Parkway, police said. The victims told police that their vehicle was cut off about 2:48 p.m. and that several suspects in the other vehicle pulled them out at gunpoint, demanding "their things and vehicle," a police report said. But while one of the victims was trying to take the kids out of the back seat, the suspects abandoned the heist, hopping into their vehicle and fleeing the scene, police spokesman Peter Panos said.

MAY 3

Theft: A man reported the theft of 38 racing pigeons from a coop at his East Side home, police said. The birds, worth up to $1,500 apiece, "were pretty nice," police spokesman Peter Panos said, with a total value estimated at $20,000 to $30,000. The theft occurred sometime between 10 p.m. May 2 and 3 p.m. May 3 in the 1300 block of McAfee Street. Panos said that the birds, which are registered, may have been stolen for breeding purposes. The suspect told police, he said, that "they weren't stolen to race, because if they were, they'd fly back to his coop."

Aimee Blanchette • 612-673-1712