A St. Paul man snatched the keys out of an alleged burglar's pickup truck Tuesday when its driver allegedly slipped underneath a neighbor's partially opened garage door.
Officers arrived at the scene in the 2100 block of Hartford Avenue shortly before midnight and arrested the stranded suspect, Randy L. Siltman.
Siltman, 42, of Cottage Grove, was charged in Ramsey County District Court Thursday with one count of third-degree burglary. Records show that Siltman has a long criminal record that includes convictions for theft and creating a public nuisance.
According to the complaint. The Good Samaritan was working in his garage when he heard Siltman's pickup truck pull up and stop. He saw Siltman crawl underneath a three-foot gap between his neighbor's garage door and ground. He removed the keys from Siltman's truck, which had been left running. Siltman looked around the garage and then took a gas can, the man told police.
Officers found latex gloves and a headlamp on Siltman, the complaint said. Siltman allegedly told police that he was a scrapper and had driven through area alleys the previous night looking for scrap. He said that his truck was low on gas when he decided to borrow the nozzle from the gas can in the garage. Siltman told police that the two gas cans in his truck had broken nozzles, and that he did not intend to keep the gas can he had just found.
Siltman denied entering the garage, the complaint said.
