Minneapolis police released surveillance images Thursday of a man they believe is responsible for at least five "sophisticated high-end burglaries" near the Chain of Lakes and more in the western suburbs.

Unfortunately for Steve Jackson, 51, of the city's Lynnhurst neighborhood, he doesn't recognize the guy.

Jackson wants a suspect jailed for a Jan. 18 burglary during which his house's alarm system was disabled and his wife's jewelry box stolen. To make matters worse, he said, his three children were with him when they came home to find the alarm panel broken, and when police searched the house with guns drawn.

"The kids were freaking out," Jackson said Thursday.

Authorities say the break-in at the house near Lake Harriet has elements matching burglaries elsewhere in the city, as well as in Edina, Minnetonka, Plymouth and Wayzata.

In each of the Minneapolis cases, a police spokesman said, a suspect compromised alarm systems and got away with items that include jewelry, cash, checkbooks and high-end electronics.

Minneapolis Police
Minneapolis Police suspect this man is responsible for numerous sophisticated, high-end burglaries in Minneapolis, Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata and Plymouth.

At one home, on the eastern edge of Lake of the Isles and valued at more than $3 million, two exterior video surveillance systems were disabled, police records show. Phone lines also were cut. The suspect failed to get inside and left in a pickup truck.

Two weeks ago, Edina police turned to the public for help solving three daytime burglaries in that city's northwest corner. Phone lines were cut during two of the break-ins, police said. Jewelry was taken in two incidents. In a third, a female homeowner surprised a man in her front hall, and he turned and ran from the home.

In the first Edina burglary, on April 1, a white man with dark hair was seen driving a red pickup with a black topper. In a May 10 attempted burglary, the suspect was described as white and in his 40s, with dark hair and a receding hairline. He drove off in a brown sedan with a white female passenger.

Anyone with information about the Minneapolis cases is asked to contact Sgt. James Jensen of the Minneapolis property crime unit at 612-673-5587. For Edina, police can be reached at 952-826-1600.

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