Karl-Anthony Towns among victims of roving burglary ring targeting pros, Medina police say

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.

Federal investigators said South American burglary crews, many in the country illegally or overstaying visas, have been targeting expensive homes and have been stealing jewelry and athletes’ sports mementos. Along with Burrow, victims include Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Besides Conley and Towns, other high-profile sports figures in Minnesota have had their homes burglarized under similar circumstances: Minnesota Twins co-owner Jim Pohlad, former Timberwolves player Troy Hudson and former Minnesota Viking Linval Joseph.

Pohlad’s $5.5 million home near Lake Bde Maka Ska, encircled by a wall and tall foliage, was burglarized Oct. 9, 2023, according to Minneapolis police. Security company personnel reported seeing the break-in unfolding on live video, police records noted.

Hudson’s $1 million Minnetonka home was burglarized on Sept. 13, when suspects made off with designer jewelry, a $3,500 handbag and an unloaded handgun, according to a police report.

Joseph’s home was one of four police said were broken into in Sunfish Lake in similar fashion on Sept. 27, Oct. 26 and Nov. 15, and Joseph’s on Nov. 17, while he was playing for the Dallas Cowboys, police said.

Police in the Twin Cities have yet to announce any arrests in the cases.

The burglaries of the unoccupied homes occurred when the athletes were playing their games or making publicized appearances. Conley’s residence in Medina was broken into while he was in Minneapolis on Sept. 15 to blow the Gjallarhorn before a Vikings home game.

The thieves typically have broken in through rear windows or glass doors or on the second floor when possible, and they have targeted jewelry and designer accessories while leaving other valuables behind.

Prosecutors said a large amount of suspected stolen property was found at a pawn shop in Manhattan and at storage units in New Jersey belonging to one of the pawn shop’s owners.

Nelson, the Medina police chief, said his department has been in contact with the FBI in New York as “we’re putting pieces of the puzzle together from other cases around the country.”

This story contains material from the Associated Press.