A man who was fatally shot recently while confronting a potential thief in his workplace parking lot had had his pickup truck stolen in the same location a year earlier, according to Minneapolis police.
Roger William Martin, 46, of Blaine, was shot on Oct. 30 in the company’s fenced employee lot in the 2600 block of 32nd Avenue S. The employee of Cornerstone Parking Group was identified by police and the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Police said they believe there was a brief struggle around 6:30 a.m. after Martin left the Cornerstone office and found the suspect in the parking lot trying to steal from a vehicle that someone else owned. At some point during the confrontation, the suspect shot Martin, and he died at the scene, police said.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at the time that the suspect was “rifling through the car in an attempt to steal something” before Martin stepped in and was shot.
Sometime during the morning of Oct. 11, 2024, Martin had his pickup truck stolen from the same lot, according to police records released Thursday to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Officers on patrol spotted the pickup near E. Lake Street and 17th Avenue S. and had it returned to Martin, the police report disclosed.
Police have not announced any arrests in connection with either the shooting of Martin or the theft of his pickup.
Cornerstone, which provides parking management services in several states for large attendance events and other needs, said in a statement shortly after Martin’s death that it was “deeply saddened that this shooting took the life of one of our employees, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
