Gunmen held a University employee and his roommate at gunpoint while robbing their house Aug. 30 just outside of Dinkytown.
Minneapolis police say two men entered the house on the 1200 block of Fourth Street Southeast, kicking in the bedroom door of Thomas Andrews, 25, an intern with the women’s athletics department.
“They knocked on my door but I didn’t answer,” Andrews said. “I figured if it was anything important they would come back.”
He said they then kicked in the door, brandished guns and called him “Bobby.” Andrews said they accused him of stealing drugs and money from their “associates.”
Andrews attempted to convince the gunmen that he was not “Bobby.” But by then, the assailants changed their minds, deciding the name was actually “Ben.” When Andrews showed them his ID, they started calling him “Andy,” not by his real name Tom.
“They were really bad with names,” Andrews said.
The gunmen took $51 from Andrews’ wallet, as well as two credit cards and his ID.
But before they left, they hog-tied Andrews with an extension cord.
“Then they said, ‘We’d better kill him,'” Andrews said. He said they then put a comforter over his head and stuck the gun into it to silence the shot. Suddenly, they had a change of heart, told him not to move for an hour and left to break into three other rooms.
Andrews said he thought the men were looking for a group of people who lived in the house previously.
“They had a purpose,” Andrews said. “They knew where to get access.” He said they entered the house through a window.
“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Minneapolis Police Sgt. Tim Kaju said. “I feel really bad.”
He added that there was a possibility that the previous tenants were part of a drug ring.
“The investigation is progressing,” Kaju said. “This is a very serious matter.” University Police assisted with the investigation.
In other police news:
ù University police arrested a student for a second time in Middlebrook Hall on Wednesday for an outstanding stolen property warrant.
Adam Kimec, 19, received a bench warrant after missing a court date, University Police Detective Chuck Miner said. Police arrested Kimec in the spring for stealing computer items from a Best Buy Store in Roseville, Minn. He faces misdemeanor charges in both Minneapolis and Roseville. Kimec was unable to be reached for comment.
ù A man sustained near-fatal wounds after he fell onto a broken beer bottle and slashed open his throat.
Evan Johnson, 21, and his friend Peter Mayer, 23, were outside of a house on the 700 block of 8th Avenue on Sept. 5 when Johnson fell down. He got back up with blood streaming from his throat. Mayer took off his shirt and applied pressure to the wound, said witness Troy Cayou, 23.
“Pete saved his life,” Cayou said.
Police arrived with homicide detectives in tow, who suspected the incident might have been a stabbing. Cayou said investigators interviewed him for three hours.
Minneapolis police officials said there was no indication of a fight or foul play. Johnson was released from the Hennepin County Medical Center two days later.
ù A Minneapolis man attacked a tow-truck driver and attempted to disable the truck on Washington Avenue on Aug. 20.
According to police reports, the man was parked in a zone at 3:15 p.m. where parking is illegal from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. A Wrecker Service tow-truck driver attempted to tow his car.
The man became enraged, jumped into the cab of the truck, turned it off and stole the keys. He then moved to the back of the truck and tried to damage the winch that lifts cars.
Minneapolis traffic control officer Craig Hucek, who originally ticketed the car, said the man approached the driver and a scuffle ensued. Hucek took off to call the police.
Meanwhile, the two wrestled for the keys and the tow-truck driver struck the other man in the nose, which began to bleed, the report said.
But when police arrived, neither wanted to press charges. The tow-truck driver and Wrecker Service refused to comment.