St. Paul man held woman captive as he drank beer, smoked, charges say

A St. Paul man broke into a stranger's apartment and held the woman captive while he drank a beer and smoked a cigarette, according to charges filed Wednesday.

George E. Lowe, 45, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count each of kidnapping and first-degree aggravated robbery, and two counts of first-degree burglary.

"When asked what would have happened if the police had not entered, [Lowe] said, 'I was going to finish drinking my beer and we probably would have made love,' " the charges said.

At one point, Lowe allegedly grabbed the woman as she tried to escape and dragged her back into the apartment.

According to the complaint: Police responded to a St. Paul apartment complex about 7:40 a.m. on Oct. 18 when a female tenant called to report that a man who had tampered with her door was dragging a different woman in the hallway.

Police found wood shavings on the floor outside the second woman's door and pry marks on the door's lock. They knocked, but no one answered. Officers entered the apartment using a caretaker's key and saw Lowe sitting on the couch smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer.

A young woman was sitting on the couch, apparently hyperventilating.

The rattling continued, so the woman went to her bedroom and called her mother. When the call ended, she heard a can being opened in the kitchen. She then found Lowe allegedly sitting on the couch drinking a beer and rifling through her roommate's purse. The woman fled into a hallway.

"The defendant ran after her and grabbed her shirt from behind," the charges said. "She started screaming for help. He pulled her shirt and grabbed her by the back of her neck."

Lowe dragged her back into the apartment and took her cellphone, the complaint says.

The woman asked Lowe what he wanted, and he said he wanted her money and gems. The woman gave him $40. Lowe then tried to light a cigarette using the stove's burner. The woman made a second attempt to flee, but Lowe chased her down and slammed the door shut.

Lowe forced the woman to sit on the couch with him for 10 minutes until police arrived.

While being questioned by police, Lowe allegedly said he had committed similar crimes twice in the same building, and that he sexually assaulted one woman on a previous occasion and that another incident occurred on the same floor. "I own that floor," he allegedly said. "It's mine."

Police had several contacts with Lowe in October, the charges said. On Oct. 7, he allegedly yelled a sexual profanity at a woman he didn't know. On Oct. 13, he was cited for fifth-degree assault for allegedly spitting on the face of a woman he didn't know.

Lowe's record includes convictions for robbery, armed robbery, auto theft, forgery and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct.