Charged: Maplewood fugitive who stole from teachers' purses

A Maplewood woman suspected of entering schools in Lake Elmo and Mahtomedi and ransacking teachers' purses for credit cards and checkbooks called her husband to say she wanted to see him "one last time," according to a criminal complaint filed Friday in Washington County District Court.

Dawn Marie Rassett, 41, was arrested Friday. Rassett left her house early Wednesday before investigators from the Sheriff's Office arrived with a search warrant. She hadn't been seen since, but she telephoned her husband Thursday, the complaint said.

High-quality surveillance photos that police released this week showed a brown-haired woman inside stores using stolen credit cards, said Sgt. Andrew Ellickson of the Sheriff's Office. Rassett is charged with forgery and financial fraud, both felonies. She also is charged with school trespassing and theft, both misdemeanors.

The complaint alleges that, using the credit cards and forging checks, Rassett did transactions at grocery and other retail outlets ranging from $52.27 to $282.30.

Public records show that Rassett, under other names, has been convicted eight times in Minnesota for crimes such as credit card fraud, check forgery, burglary and receiving stolen property. She went to Shakopee women's prison in 2002 on convictions of forgery and burglary, the records show.

In 2006, Rassett filed for personal bankruptcy, which the court later approved. She claimed more than $18,000 in liabilities and about $2,600 in personal property at the time. She said she had $600 in her checking account and $5 in savings, while her bills included owing a combined total of more than $6,000 on four credit card accounts.

Recently, she had been working full time for a St. Paul portable-toilet company and part time at a Stillwater restaurant.

Video was a giveaway

The complaint alleges that Rassett somehow entered classrooms to steal from teachers' purses that were underneath their desks. The woman's identity became apparent to law enforcement after several callers, including her employer, independently corroborated her identity after seeing published photographs of her allegedly using stolen credit cards, the complaint said.

Ellickson said that Rassett isn't a school employee and doesn't appear to have children attending any of the targeted buildings.

Schools in Mahtomedi, Lake Elmo, Wyoming and Hudson, Wis., reported thefts in recent weeks, he said. Stolen credit cards were used in Stillwater, Vadnais Heights and Roseville, and a possible theft in a Roseville school also is being investigated, he said.

Didn't sign in at school

Surveillance video from the school showed the suspect inside at 3:26 p.m. on the day of the thefts. The suspect was the only person who hadn't followed school policy and signed at the front desk as required for visitors, the complaint said.

Checks also were forged at a Stillwater supermarket and a discount store, the complaint said.

Suspect disappeared

When Washington County investigators and other police officers went to the suspect's house on Wednesday, they spoke to her husband. He said relatives had called him to say they saw the suspect's photo in the news, the complaint said. He said the suspect refused to disclose her whereabouts, the complaint said.