Police in a Twin Cities suburb have evidence that the burglary of homes owned by Minnesota Timberwolves player Mike Conley and former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns are tied to a suspected burglary ring that has targeted pro athletes’ residences across the country, according to court records.
On Wednesday, Medina Police Chief Jason Nelson told the Minnesota Star Tribune that one of the burglaries’ victims from last year was Towns, the longtime Timberwolves player who was traded before the current season to the New York Knicks.
Towns lost jewelry and watches in the burglary when his multimillion-dollar house was targeted on Sept. 16, according to police in Medina via the affidavit. The house was unoccupied at the time.
A search warrant affidavit filed Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court by Medina police said a man arrested and charged last month in connection with the burglary of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home allegedly had a phone that contained a photo of a bracelet stolen from Towns’ home. Towns looked at the photo and identified it as his, the filing continued.
However, Nelson said Thursday, his department has been contacted by the head of Timberwolves security and told the bracelet in the photo does not belong to Towns. The team official said Towns' bracelet was missing while en route from Los Angeles to New York before it was found.
Police also said in the affidavit they have evidence suggesting an SUV the suspects allegedly abandoned in Miami is the same rental vehicle they were riding in while targeting homes in Medina, a city in western Hennepin County with a rural character.
Medina police filed the affidavit in Hennepin County District Court asking for permission to examine the content of the suspects' phones that had been inspected by investigators in Ohio. Four people have been charged in the Ohio burglary.
The affidavit said the names of three of those men were shared with Medina police in hopes of solving the three break-ins that happened on successive days in September. They are Alexander Esteban Huaiquil-Chavez, 24; Bastian Alejandro Orellana Morales, 23; and Sergio Andres Ortega Cabello, 38.